


Never Forget You

by killiansprincss



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence, Curses, Emma Grows Up Happy, Evil Queen curses Emma, F/M, Hurt, Magic, Neverland (Once Upon a Time), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, emma shows Killian how much she loves him, evil fairies, season 6 AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:33:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26613010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killiansprincss/pseuds/killiansprincss
Summary: Season 6A Canon Divergence.Emma is happy. Finally happy with her parents, son and boyfriend. But this happiness is taken away from her when the Evil Queen curses her and turns her into a toddler.Heartbroken and angry, Killian and Henry run away to Neverland to wait for Emma to break her curse. But when she does break itand comes looking for them 25 years later, she soon realises this Neverland is very different now it is no longer under Pans rule.Will she be able to save Henry and Killian in time, or will this new ruler of Neverland keep them hostage forever?
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Comments: 16
Kudos: 43





	1. CHAPTER ONE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma is happy. Really happy. But the Evil Queen has other ideas.

Life was good for Emma. It was really good. I mean aside from the threat of evil every day. But she had faith they would come out of this and defeat the evil queen. Her family had defeated every villain before this, why would the Evil Queen be any different?

She and Kilian were happy. For the first time in a very long time, she was truly happy, in love and had a family. Whilst she also had a feeling that something bad was going to happen, she had to shift that feeling to the back of her mind: they would defeat the evil queen. It would be fine.

Emma had grown up alone, an orphan. For 28 years. She felt unloved. Until she came to Storybrooke. Henry brought her to this little town in Maine and she didn’t know it at the time, but she would finally be happy in this town.  
———————————————-———————————— ——————————————————————————

That’s when everything changed. It started like any other day, Emma went to the sheriff's station and tried to pretend she lived in a normal town with a boyfriend who isn't a fairytale character. That lasted all of 2 hours when she got a call from Regina to meet her by Granny’s, she knew how to defeat the evil queen she said. She sent a quick text to her family but assumed they already knew.

But when she got to Granny’s, it wasn’t Regina waiting for her, but the Evil Queen. She hoped either David or Killian were on their way.

“Ah if it isn’t the saviour.” The Queen sneered.

Emma sighs, “Look I don’t know what you want but please-“

“SILENCE” she cuts her off.

Killian David and Snow are right behind her now, ready for whatever she throws her way.

“Ah, a family event. This will be fun.” She points at Snow “You killed my first love, and then rubbed your happy marriage in my face all these years later”

Snow tries to respond but then she points to Emma and Killian, “and you. The saviour, the product of true love.” She says in a mocking voice. “It makes me sick. And the one time I was happy since Daniel, with Robin-you wrecked it. Going to the Underworld to save your stupid pirate which ended up Robin being murdered.”

Emma ushers to make sure Killian stays behind her, she won’t let her hurt them again. She felt so bad about Robin, she took that blow from Regina already. She blamed herself even though it was not her fault, she did drag them all to The Underworld.

“Now, I know what you’re thinking, killing you would be easy, I kill him, you kill me and then you find a way to bring your true love back. But I’m going to do something much worse.” The Evil Queen looks over at Emma and her family, almost as if she’s trying to decide which of them to hurt next.

They really have no idea what they’re up against. Suddenly a blast of her magic hits Emma before she has time to defend herself. But instead of killing her, instead of entrapping her or transporting her elsewhere.

She had turned into a toddler.

  
A cute 3-year-old with blonde hair and green eyes.

It was Emma alright.

The Evil Queen laughs, “Now you have lost her. She will grow up as a normal child with no recollection of her Pirate lover and you have to suffer watching her grow up with new friends and new loves. By the time she remembers you, it will be too late.”

Revenge. This was her revenge. She had tried everything, but this would hurt the entire town. Their poor saviour.

And with that, she disappears in a purple smoke before Killian and the others even understand what just happened. Killian dropped to his knees. His life with Emma flashes forward in his eyes.

He was planning on proposing to Emma when this was all over (getting a blessing from her father first of course), then their wedding day, seeing her walk down the aisle in a white dress and the day where she tells him they’re having a baby, holding their baby girl in his arms for the first time. He imagined their life together, more kids along the way, raising them all to be smart and individual with a slight tinge of Pirate in them too.

Scaring their daughters first boyfriend when he picks her up for a date, but going easy on him from then on. Being there when Henry graduates High School, and then College and when he has kids, them calling him ‘grandpa’. Growing old with Emma and living the most perfect happy life he never thought he would get.

The day he lost Liam was the worst day of his life, then he found Milah and she filled the hole that was missing. And then when she was killed, for years he was set on revenge. He didn’t have time to think of a future that did not involve killing the Dark One.

  
That was until he met Emma. And he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Working with Cora, he didn’t know how much his life would change, give it meaning. This saviour he hadn’t thought about, just another Hero.

But Emma was so much more than that.

They had been through so much together over the next through years, he began to love each part of her, and each time she let him in, he loved her even more. But then the day he died he was just happy that he met her, after losing Liam and Milah in just a few years had broken him, he never thought he would find the happiness he did with Emma, even if it was just for a short time. Then she rescued him and then met Liam and helped him find peace, and slowly the hole that was left in his heart after Liam died slowly healed, and it was all thanks to Emma.

Emma was not completely whole when he met her either. A lost boy and a lost girl had found one another and were making the other complete.

And now. There she sat, a toddler, a tiny 2 year old that was crying for her parents. That vision, the plans he had. They were all gone.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The extended Charming family are coming to terms with what it means that Emma is cursed.
> 
> Henry and Killian plan their getaway whilst they figure out how to end the Evil Queen once and for all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a psa I haven’t watched S6 in a while so the Evil Queen storyline isn’t greatly accurate to the show so let’s say it’s a canon divergence and move on!

Just Snow Charming and Hook are left on the street just looking at each other and then back to baby Emma. Killian breaks the silence by saying ‘I’m-I’m gonna go tell Henry. I don’t want him to find out from someone else.” 

The walk back to their house where Henry was stuck indoors doing homework was the longest walk. He kept playing over and over what happened. He didn’t know what he would say to Henry, but he knew he had to tell him now rather than hear it from Regina later on.

He can’t quite put his key in the door, and it’s not just because he has one hand.

  
  


“Lad can you come down here, I need to tell you something.” He says when he finally enters.

Henry comes racing down the stairs with a grin on his face, poor kid, he has no idea what news is about to come his way.

“Is this about my math homework? Look I know and I’m sorry I’ll do better. I already text mom and apologised, math first and then video games. He says, unaware of what’s really going on.

“No lad, it’s something more serious than that.” And so Killian sits him down, tells him everything. He swears he sees the colour from Henry’s normally rosy cheeks fade. It takes him a few moments to process it before he finally says,

“But it’s okay, we can get Mr Gold or someone to reverse the spell? Or my other mom-Regina-she-surely she can do something!” 

One thing about Henry that Killian always admired was his positivity. “We’ll see lad. I’ll give Regina a call and we can meet at Granny’s, see what she can do.” 

———

David and Snow were freaking out, they had one newborn and were now raising a toddler in their son Neal, and now their 30-year-old daughter was now around the same age as their 1-year-old son. They had no idea if this spell was permanent and what they would do if it was, they could just about raise one toddler. And Emma, she had finally let down her walls and let her family in. Only for that to be taken away.

“I just got off the phone to Hook. He told Henry, but he thinks Regina or Gold can reverse the spell.” David tells his wife.

That gave them a little bit of hope. “Yes, The Evil Queens magic is basically Regina's magic right? So Regina can reverse it.” 

Snow looks at her now 3-year-old daughter sleeping. Part of her doesn’t hate it, they can be the family they originally intended to be raising their daughter and seeing her grow up and have a better life than Emma grew up with. But she also hated that she liked the idea of it. 

Neal is already at Ashley’s for the day with her daughter Alexandra and Aurora's son Phillip. It had become Ashley’s job as the Towns childminder, she actually is a natural at it, hopefully she wouldn’t mind another toddler to look after, a toddler that didn’t exist this morning. 

—

Killian, Henry, Snow and David all meet at Granny’s waiting for Regina to see what can be done. 

“I came as soon as I heard. Where is she?” Regina says as she walks into the diner.

“She’s with Ashley. We didn’t tell her anything specific, just that a baby appeared and she was happy to look after her for the day” Snow replied.

Regina looked tense and looked at Henry’s hopeful face and that gleam in his eyes. “I don’t think this is the news you’re hoping for.”

The four family members looked sick as Regina explained, “The Evil Queen is very clever. Too smart actually. It’s not just a spell she cast, if it were it would easily be rectified. But it’s a curse. It’s aimed mainly at Hook, taking away his love the way Snow took away hers-mine-our-Daniel. I’m getting Belle and Gold to look over it and see if we can break it sooner rather than later but other than that, I’m sorry there’s nothing I can do.” 

Regina was right, this wasn’t the news they were hoping for. That week dragged on, people did start to question where Emma was, but the Charmings played it off as a weird sickness bug. Both Snow and Killian had to convince Ruby she wasn’t pregnant after she became a little too excited. That hurt the most. 

After a week of nothing, Killian took matters into his own hands and went down to Golds shop. Belle was at the library, unfortunately, so he was faced with just the crocodile.

“Out with it, Crocodile. I know it doesn’t take a week to figure out if you can break this damn curse.” Killian snapped at the crocodile as he burst through the pawnshop.

Gold sneered at the former pirate captain, “You're right. I do know whether this curse on Miss Swan can be broken or not. But whether or not I choose to share this information with you is my business.” 

Cursing under his breath, Killian turned and headed towards the door, “fine. I’ll just have to tell Henry that his grandfather doesn’t want to help him.”

Killian could hear Gold muttering, “Fine. But it’s not good news.” Killian’s heart sank. 

“The Evil Queen didn't cast any spell on Emma, she cursed her. Curses, as I’m sure you’re aware, aren’t so easy to break, not even the Queen herself can break the curse, when Emma turns 28, again, the curse will be lifted in the sense that she will regain her memories of her past life. As a product of true love, she will be surrounded by true love and will experience True Love's kiss many times. This will give her flashes of her former life. I can assure you, by the time she is 28 she will have broken her curse.”

Killian slammed his hand on the counter, “how the hell does this help me? By the time she’s 28, I’ll be old and I’ll have watched her grow up not knowing who I am.” 

“If you let me finish,” Gold sneered, “I can preserve her memories so that after she turns 28 she will remember this life. As for you and Henry, I have a proposition.”

Killian had a bad feeling about it, but was desperate to get Emma back, “go on…”

Gold had a new grin on his face, not so much that he was happy to help them, but there was clearly a catch, “Neverland. Henry still holds the heart of the truest believer, a few drops of his blood could restore the magic of Neverland. Just enough for you and him to reside until your beloved's curse is lifted and she can come to find you and bring you back to Storybrooke. Neither you or my grandson will have aged.”

Killian stood there taking in the Dark One's words. “What's the catch Crocodile?” 

“No catch.” He responded

Killian shook his head, “there is always something with you. A deal, a price to pay. What is it?” 

Gold laughs, “oh that. Well, no deal I don’t want anything in return, but the price to pay is that whilst I can give you a portal to Neverland, I cannot promise you a way home once Emma arrives in 25 years. And you may find yourself calling the place home again by that time.” 

Killian debated his options, but to be true, he had no other option. Neverland would grant it’s the gift of youthfulness once again whilst he and Henry wait for Emma’s curse to be lifted. Then they can be together, the three of them. A family.

“I’ll get Henry and see if he agrees. If he does, you best prepare that portal.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


Killian truly had no idea if Henry would agree to this crazy plan. Neverland was his home for almost 300 years and it was a horrible experience.

But it was also where he fell in love with Emma. When they were there, he saw the caring and protective mother side to her, as well as her ability to stand her ground. And when she kissed him for the first time, his whole world changed. Going back to that place, with it’s good as well as bad memories would be tough, but if it led to Emma being with him again, and starting the life he had planned in his head, it would all be worth it. 

_________

  
  


Henry was at Granny’s, pouring over a pile of different books with Belle, trying to figure out how to break Emma’s curse. 

“So I can’t just write the spell out of the story?” Henry asked Belle as he flicked the page.

Belle was engrossed in her own book, “No. It says that the rules of the author don’t work like that, if it was a spell or curse cast by someone with great power-I assume that means the Evil Queen-the pen is rendered useless, otherwise Regina’s original curse would’ve been broken long before you were even born Henry.” 

He slides into the seat next to Belle, “any luck?” He asks, not wanting to give away his plan just yet. 

Henry shakes his head, “Nope, surprisingly there is a section about a toddler being turned into an adult and how to reverse that, but not the other way around.” 

Killian turns to Belle, “do you mind if I talk to Henry alone for a few minutes? It’s important.” 

Belle gives him a smile, “of course, of course, I’ll be over there if you need me,” she says pointing to the booth over in the corner.

Henry’s curiosity just increased, “what is this about? Is it about Mom?” 

“In a sense yes. I just saw the crocodile.” Killian explains.

“Oh no,” Henry says. Whilst he loves his grandfather but he knows how he can be pretty untrustworthy and not be totally clear in his instructions. 

So Killian explains to Henry what Gold told him, about Emma's curse and how it can only be broken when she turns 28. He delves into Gold's plan about Neverland and staying there until Emma comes and finds them when the curse is broken. Of course, Henry is shocked and confused and tries to take in everything he’s just heard until he finally says,

“Okay. Let’s do this. Operation Ambrosia.” He sees Killians confused look, “In Mythology, people were given Ambrosia to have eternal youth, that’s like us-going to Neverland we won’t age. I know it’s not as good as Operation Cobra, but it’s the best I got.”

“We’d be sacrificing a lot by doing this, I hope you know that,” Killian tells him, as much as he wants this he realises they’d be giving up a lot.

He nods, “I know. It’s gonna be hard to leave her, leave everyone-especially my other mom-but they’ll all be here when we get Emma back, and I don’t want to see my mom grow up not knowing I’m her son until I’m 15 years older than she is.” 

Killian understands, it’ll be hard to leave but it’ll be worth it when Emma is back to the one they know and love. 

“Everything okay?” Belle asks as she comes to exchange her book for the one Henry was previously looking at. 

“If you were in our position,” Henry begins, “and you were given a magic bean to live and not age-would you do it” 

Belle contemplates this for a second, “I don’t know. If something happened to Rumple that happened to Emma I’d do anything to get him back. What the three of you have been through though, losing you in Neverland and then the Dark One power taking over her, then Killian, dying and Emma saving you from the Underworld. It’s clear the three of you will do anything to stay together, a family. Not even me and Rumple have been through as much as you. If I were in your position I’d do anything.” 

Belle knows Rumple offered them something, a magic bean or a portal, something. She knew they were up to something. “Whatever it is you’re planning. Just be careful. I love Rumple, but his deals aren’t always as they seem.” 

The three exchange a knowing look. “Will you keep hold of this letter for me, for when my mom breaks the first or it lifts? Whichever comes first.” He says handing her an envelope. 

“Of course.” And Belle gives Henry a hug, knowing it’ll be a long while until she sees them again. 

————

The day goes by and Henry and Killian are gone. Regina is freaking out. Snow and Charming are trying to handle 2 toddlers, figure out how to break Emma’s curse and figure out where Henry was. They checked the house and neither Hook nor Henry was there, not anywhere. Then they find a note.

‘ _I’m safe. Hook and I have gone somewhere to wait until Emma remembers us. You’ll see us again soon._

_Henry ‘_

  
  


_~~~~~~~~~~_

_~~~~~~~~~~_

  
  


It had been 2 weeks since they found the note from Henry who had run away. They wanted to find him and bring him back, but they had no way of getting to wherever he was, especially seeing as Gold denied any aid in his running away. Everyone knew but it was best not to argue with the Dark One.

After 2 weeks they were slowly starting to accept that it was okay, that once Emma grows up she’ll be able to travel to wherever Henry and Hook are and bring them home. 

The Charmings finally told the town what happened. About how Emma was cursed. It took some time to accept this, especially those who had grown close to Emma, but again it took time to accept it.

While she had accepted he wasn’t coming back, Regina was still so distraught over losing Henry. She knew why he ran, he didn’t want to see his other mom grow up in front of his eyes. She hoped he’d do the same thing if it were her in his situation. 

Everyone around Regina was happy. The Charmings had the family she took from them, 2 kids under the age of 3, they’d moved out of the loft and were loving their new life. They say they missed Emma but she saw the happiness in their eyes as they got to raise their two kids the way they wanted. They were living the life she took from then by casting her curse.

Regina was lonely. She had lost Robin, which filled the hole Daniel had left, and she had now lost Henry. The only family she lad left and she’d lost it. She understood where the Evil Queen was coming from, she wasn’t jealous of Emma-more of what she had. She had Henry, her parents and a pirate who loved her. And when she wakes up from her curse, Henry will flock to Emma more than Regina. 

She wasn’t so jealous when she had Robin. 

She hated that word though, ‘jealous’, she was happy for Emma and she deserves everything in her life, but it doesn’t mean that Regina can’t be angry that she got a glimpse of her happy ending, then lost it forever. Robin loved her and looked past her villain side, he loved her for who she was now, not back then. The fact he’d forgiven her for killing Marian all those years ago, leaving Roland to grow up without his mother, said a lot. 

Sweet little Roland, Regina had cared for him like a mother and a part of her hopes he saw her as a stepmother figure. She missed Roland, his sweet little face, but she understood he had to go back to Sherwood with the Merry Men. He was going to grow up trying to live up to his father's legacy. 

Not a day goes by that she doesn’t think of Robin. But she had to have faith that she would see him again, he wasn’t gone forever despite what Hades did, he was in a better place. She knew there was a better place, especially for someone like Robin. There had to be. Would she see him sooner than she thought, would the Evil Queen kill her other half? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  


The Evil Queen was still at large and currently the biggest threat to Storybrooke. They tried and failed to turn her into a snake and send her to another Realm, Regina was hauled up in her vault every day figuring out how to get rid of her. She was ignoring Zelena too. Her sister would pop into her vault every now and then, telling her to get some fresh air and see if an idea comes to her that way, but she would decline every time. It wasn’t so much her sister she didn’t want to see, but more her little niece Robin, named after her father. The little baby girl looked so much like her namesake and as happy as she was for Zelena, it didn’t help that everyone around her had their children.

As Regina stared at her vault and the many hearts she had collected. An idea struck.

Knocking on the front door of the new Charmings House, David answered. 

“I have a way to stop the Evil Queen.” She says as he answers.

“We just put the kids to sleep, does it have to me right now?” David whispers as they step inside. 

“Yes. Because if we wait any longer I’ll chicken out of the plan and she’ll keep ruling us.” Regina replies, fear in her eyes. 

Rolling his eyes David says, “okay we will get someone to look after the kids for a few hours. We’ll meet you in what an hour?”

Regina’s already rushing out the door as she yells “Perfect!” 

_____________

___________

An hour later they’re at the town hall. Regina's office. Snow, David, Zelena, Belle and Gold. 

“So the plan is to lure the Evil Queen here-how exactly?” Belle asks the group, still unsure of her plan. 

“Snow White is currently the person she hates most, she expected her to be furious with her with what she did to Emma-so when she sees her happy with her children and her husband, she’ll try and take revenge by doing something else-“

David cuts Regina off, “Snow will be safe though, Gold will be putting a protection spell around us so she can’t hurt us. Then when she realises she can’t hurt us-“

“She blasts the barrier, and when it backfires and traps her, it will imprison her in an anti-magic cage, similar to the one Cinderella and her prince trapped me in before” Mr Gold finishes off.

Belle nods in understanding. 

“So when she’s trapped-then what? How do we kill her?” Zelena then asks.

“Her magic will remain useless so I can then rip out her heart,” Regina tells her sister. “This will work. We can be rid of her and then her on with our lives. No more villains.” 

_____

So a few hours later with a new protection spell around them, Snow and David are walking Emma and Neal in their pram waiting for the Queen to strike. 

“Right on cue,” David whispers as he sees her suddenly appear, a very angry look on her face. 

“Snow White. Look at you all happy. This was not how this arrangement was meant to go down I have you know. Your dear grandson and your daughter's pirate were meant to suffer, not run away. And you look so darn happy I guess we’ll have to do something about that.” The Evil Queen unleashes a purple smoke from her hands, and when it just goes around them, she just laughs. 

“A protection spell? Really? You think this cannot be undone by my magic?” Attempting a second time to blast them, the magic now backfires onto her and encloses the Queen in a puff of black smoke. She screams and tries to stop but it’s no use. The Queen looks down and sees anti-magic cuffs. She’s trapped. And she doesn’t like it. No use of her powers and cannot do anything about it.

Everyone else slowly comes out from their hiding spot to see the newly trapped Queen. 

“You won’t get away with this,” the Queen tells them.

“Oh I think we already did dearie,” Rumple replies with a devious smile.

“Do it now,” Regina tells Rumple. It’s time to tend the Evil Queen once and for all. 

Rumplestilskin reaches into the Queen's cage and with her hands bound, she cannot stop him as he grabs her heart out of her body. The Queen doesn’t flinch as Rumple takes the blackened heart out of the cage and begins to crush it. The Evil Queen suffers and begins to choke, but she’s not the only one. 

On the other side of the cage, Regina slowly falls to the ground clutching her chest in pain. 

“Stop! You’re hurting Regina” Zelena yells as she notices her sister on the ground. 

The Evil Queen inside the cage begins to laugh as the pressure on her heart is released. “You can’t kill me without killing yourself, Regina. We’re connected. My heart is your heart, whatever you do to me will ultimately happen to you as well.” 

This wasn’t part of the plan. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Regina would defeat the Evil side of her and be rid of her forever so she can live in Storybrooke as she waits for Henry to come back. By then nobody will see her as the Evil Queen. But she has no choice. Whether she likes it or not, they’re connected. Killing the Queen by whatever means will only kill her too. 

Regina had created Storybrooke out of spite, revenge and hatred. But it had become a haven, a safe space. And a home. She brought the Enchanted Forest here and they would be safe from Ogres and war and famine and disease. And she brought Henry into this world too, this was his home. The only home he’s ever known. This was her purpose, she knew what she had to do. 

“Crush it.” She said simply.

Everyone objected, telling her they would find another way. But they all knew there couldn’t be another way. She was doing this for Henry, he would come back to a better Storybrooke than the one he left, by sacrificing herself she was making his home the safe space she never intended it to be. But she wasn’t just doing it for Henry, it was for all the residents of Storybrooke whether they were here in the first curse or the second. Whether they were born here or cursed here. This was her purpose and she had fulfilled it. 

“We all know it’s the only way. Crush her-my-our heart. Just tell Henry, when he gets home, I always loved him.” She could practically see Robin waiting for her on the other side. 

Everyone around her was crying begging her not to, but she just looked at Rumple who held her heart in his hands and nodded. Then she looked at the Evil Queen-at herself-the part of herself she hated and smiled as her heart was crushed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to all of the Regina fans, I tried to give her a good ending as a sacrifice!
> 
> The next few chapters will be covering Emma's life growing up happy with her family/
> 
> I hope you enjoy this story as much as I have loved creating it please comment down below I'd love to hear your thoughts!


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will explore Emma's life as she grows up loved, and will explore Storybroke without the threat of evil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is where I truly began to love writing this fic, I've introduced a few characters you will have met before as babies but I shall introduce them as teens in a magic-filled Storybrooke.

The sacrifice of Regina didn’t go unnoticed, she didn’t die in vain. Rumple along with the Blue Fairy created a secure border around the town line, allowing nobody to enter. Residents could leave, but they left knowing they and only they could return home. No unwanted visitors would trouble them anymore. Rumple said he was doing it for the town, but he was worried for his unborn child too.

Her funeral was largely packed, people mourned for Regina, not the Evil Queen. She had a plaque in the mayor's office commemorating her life and the good things she did for Storybrooke. 

Snow was the town's first choice as her replacement for mayor, seeing as she had done the job previously, and sure she loved it, but with two children to raise and her wanting to go back to teaching, open elections were held for anyone wanting to run. The candidates, in the end, included a few villagers from the Enchanted Forest, a few knights from Camelot and surprisingly Aurora. 

“I never got to be a ruler in my kingdom. When I awoke from my sleeping curse my mother and father were gone and I had no kingdom to rule, then we got not here. I want to prove to myself that even though Storybrooke is not a kingdom, I can still rule, and I would have made an excellent Queen back in the Enchanted Forest.” 

Her campaign speech won her over with the people, her kingdom was surprisingly a large population in Storybrooke and even those who were not part of her kingdom loved her and saw a vision for the future of Storybrooke. She won by an overwhelming majority.

As Mayor, Aurora held weekly town meetings to discuss any problems, whether magical or mundane. She got Storybrooke up to date technology-wise while keeping up the ruse that this was a normal small town in Maine, with a little help of glamour spells from the fairies.

_____________________________

The Nolan Charming Family were happy. Snow and David got to raise their two beautiful children alongside each other the way they always planned to in the Enchanted Forest.

“First Day of Kindergarten!” Snow smiles with her camera. Snow can't take her to school as she has to be in her own class, so she snaps a quick photo before going to work.

5-year-old Emma smiles with her missing teeth and blonde hair in two adorable pink tails.

“Remember honey, do not use your magic on anybody okay, and if you accidentally use it just stop and don’t try to fix it with more magic okay?” David kneels down giving her her pink backpack.

Little Emma nods ”Okay Daddy!”

David drives her to the new and improved Storybrooke Elementary School equipped with teachers for every class and every year, who teach real subjects like Math and Science as well as a few History of the Enchanted Forest classes. Snow is already in her 5th-grade class greeting her students, so she will see glimpses of her daughter throughout the day.

David walks his daughter to the main gate where they see a few more kindergarten students starting, including Alexandra, Ashleys daughter, crying.

“I am so glad you’re here!” Ashley cries with delight, “She won’t stop crying! Look, Alex, it’s Emma!” 

Emma and Alexandra have been playmates since Emma’s curse, with Snow teaching 5th grade at the school and David becoming the full-time sheriff, Ashley's daycare business was a lifesaver. Spending most days together the two girls became fast friends.

“ALEX!!” Emma screams when she sees her friend and runs over to her.

“EMMA!” Alex screams in return.

Emma comes home that day off the walls excited and telling her parents how much she loves school. And it is like 90% of the days of Kindergarten.

_______

A year later and it's Neal’s first day of school, and Emma’s first day of 1st grade. The same as last year; with the picture on the first day, this time with Neal in the picture holding his lunch bag next to Emma. 

Emma and Alex are inseparable the moment they see each other, therefore breaking her parents promise she will look out for her little brother. But he got on just fine, and like Emma, loved his days spent at school.

_______

Over the years, to combat the questions Emma and Neal would eventually ask, the Fairies cast a spell to duplicate the Book. Instead of Emma as the saviour and her journey, the book tells of a Saviour, the daughter of a princess in a kingdom that didn’t actually exist, who sacrificed herself to save Storybrooke and break the curse. It was a good enough story that Emma didn’t get suspicious or ask more questions. She wouldn’t need to know the truth until the curse was broken.

The kids never questioned it, and the Blue Fairy did a wonderful job at keeping up appearances. The Charmings had to edit their story slightly to fit the new narrative. Emma was born right before the curse hit, no mention of a magic wardrobe and she and Snow were cursed for 28 years together.

A lot happened in the years before Emma’s last day of high school. She got As in a lot of her exams, including English which she was very proud of. And she got braces which at 14 and starting High School was the worst thing that could ever happen to you.

Emma also got her heartbroken. 

Twice. 

The first time was when she had a crush on a guy that was a little bit older, and she was crushed when she found out he had a girlfriend. Then the second time, she was 16 and was going out with Dominic, and it was going really well. Until she accidentally did magic and he turned on her. Very quickly.

He cheated on her with Serena, a girl in their class that always got everything because her father was now Mayor. 

^^^

_“I just don’t understand.” Emma sighs as she flops onto her best friends best._

_“He is stupid!” Alex exclaims, angry at him for breaking her best friends heart._

_“Is magic so bad?” Emma asks, still upset. “I mean magic literally brought us here. If it weren’t for the magic in this town, we would be in the Enchanted Forest with no running water or electricity!”_

_Alex sniggers, “who needs electricity when you have ogres trying to kill you and corsets that you can’t breathe in.”_

_This makes Emma laugh. “Of all the girls to cheat on me with- he chooses Serena? She’s perfect, she’s so much prettier than me and-“_

_Alex quickly interrupts her, “Please stop! Emma, you are a Misthaven Princess product of True Love and you’re freaking stunning. Serena is a liar and a manipulator. She may have a pretty face but she has an evil soul. Boy if I had magic the things I would do to her."_

_Emma rolls her eyes, “You know I can’t use my magic to do anything to her! I wouldn’t be able to learn anymore!”_

_Alex smirks, “That’s why you deny everything! They would never know, and Serena would never be able to gloat.”_

_“If I could I would believe me,” Emma says._

_Alex jumps off the bed and grabs the sword in the stand on the opposite side of her room. “If we can’t use magic, we can use our swords.”_

_Emma jumps off the bed. “Now this is something I can get behind. Let me try and summon my sword.”_

_Emma stands and thinks about where the sword she has is placed. She envisions her room, and that her sword is by her door. It’s a sharp double-ended blade which gave her and her brother matching scars when they were far too young to be using real swords. It’s cool and the intricate designs of the hold which she can never understand,_

_She opens her eyes and her sword is in her right hand. Emma smiles proudly,_

_“Yes! You did it!” Alex says raising her sword high above her head._

_Emma follows the movement, “I dread to think what your plan is.”_

_Alex smirks as she flicks her blade around in circular motions, “Dominic is going to pay. And I’m thinking, we are two badass princesses who can sword fight. He thinks he’s so cool and popular, well not for long.”_

_As much as she loved Alex, she was kind of crazy. She was fiercely protective of her friends. When Philip was teased for getting an answer wrong, Alex made it her mission to find a way to get revenge on the bully, by putting itching powder in the back of his shirt and may have gotten Emma to cast a spell to make him pee his pants. The teachers couldn’t prove anything so they didn’t get into trouble._

_“Okay whatever your plan is, don’t involve me, I can’t risk having my magic taken away from me,” Emma says, as much as she would love to put a spell on Serena, she knew it wasn't worth it._

_Phillip knocks at the door a few minutes later grinning._

_“What did you do?” Emma asks, a little nervous._

_“Check your school emails. I may have sent a rumour to the entire school that Dominic has an STD and also that he has green scales down there.” Phillip says proudly._

_Alex and Emma burst into fits of laughter. This was better than any spell she could have cast._

_Rumours at Storybrooke High spread fast and most of the time everyone believed them._

_Dominic and Serena quickly went from popular and the “it” couple to breaking up and falling from their grace._

___

“Last Day of High School guys,” Emma says to Alex and Phillip, her two best friends. 

“It feels like yesterday we were starting kindergarten,” Alex says grabbing Emma and Phillips' hands as they walk through the school gates one last time.

“It feels like just last week you two finally decided to be my friend.” Phillip laughs. It’s true, it wasn’t until 7th grade when Alex and Emma let Phillip Into their group. They were 12 and thought all boys were like their younger brothers, annoying and loud. 

____

_“Come on you two. I have known you since birth, we were playmates at daycare. Tell me why I can’t be part of your group.” Philip asked the inseparable Emma and Alex._

_Alex looks at Phillip, sure they had been friends since birth and had grown up together._

_“He’s not as annoying as Neal. I will give him that.” Emma whispers to her friend._

_“Hmm and he won’t come into my room and read my diary, like Myles does.” Alex comments. Alex’s brother Myles was 5 years younger so was even more annoying than Neal was to Emma. He was either listening to their private conversations or running and crying saying they had hurt him, when all Alex did was give him a shove._

_Phillip was an only child, so he was kind of lonely, Emma and Alex, despite their teasing he considered them friends._

_“Tell you what. You can be on a trial. Be our friend for a week and if we like you you can stay as our friend.” Alex tells him._

_After two days the girls accepted that they were never going to get rid of Phillip. He was a good friend and a good ally when they needed one of the guys in their class to blame on their pranks. As a star student, the teachers loved Phillip and believed him._

  
  
____

The Last Day is filled with signing yearbooks and a lot of crying. Even though most kids will not be going anywhere, less than 10% of the last few years graduating seniors went to college in the outside world, it’s still sad that they won’t see each other every day. It’s also planning for Prom, they have their prom in a couple of weeks before their graduation ceremony and the trio still do not have dates. 

“Remind me why we can’t go by ourselves?” Phillip asks as they come back to Emma’s house to discuss what they’re going to do. 

“Because, it’ll look like you’re with Emma, and you guys let me come along with you as I couldn’t find a girl to go with,” Alex explains. 

Phillip laughs, “I still find it funny that if we were born in the Enchanted Forest one of you would’ve been my betrothed.” 

Alex makes a gagging sound and Emma laughs. 

“I couldn’t think of anything worse. No offence!” Alex jokes. “I would’ve much rather be betrothed to Emma, at least she fits my type as a girl.”

“And I probably would’ve accepted, I don’t want to marry someone my parents decided would be a good match for me just because our kingdoms are friendly.” Emma explains, “I want to marry someone I choose.”

Alex makes a mock bow, “All hail Princess Emma. The princess of choice and fuck arranged marriages!”

“At least I’m not the princess that would go around school telling everyone I was a princess.” She laughs, Melody who is a few grades below them always tells people that her father is King of a maritime Kingdom in the Enchanted Forest, it’s so embarrassing as so many kids are princes or princesses on Storybrooke who act totally normal. 

“Okay in all seriousness, who are you taking them to Prom? There are tons of girls in our grade who would go with you.” Phillip asks and it’s true. Alex is popular and pretty and lots of girls and even guys (though they’re not her type) want her, but she always says she’s saving herself for someone special.

“I have someone in mind. But I’m not saying who, I don’t know if she’s into me.” Alex says mysteriously.

“Okay, what about Maya?” Emma suggests to Phillip.

“No she’s going with Adam I think.”

“Jessica?”

“Also taken.”

This goes on for about 45 minutes and a quite a lot of texts and calls later until they finally decide that Emma is going with Jensen-the son of one of her family's former guards, and Phillip is going with Beatrice who works part-time at Granny’s. And Alex is going to ask her mystery woman herself.

  
  


______

Emma is in Granny’s studying her spellbook for her magic test that was coming up. That’s another thing that’s happened in Storybrooke, anyone born with magical abilities was allowed to be taught by the fairies, and only the fairies. Anyone not born was not allowed to learn. So since they were 6 and 7 Emma and Neal have been attending magic lessons every weekend to learn how to control and use their magic for good. Emma was pretty good, she felt powerful when she used her magic, but there’s always the temptation to look up dark magic. Not to use herself on anyone (though bullies and horrible boyfriends have tested in the past) there’s something about it that sparks her curiosity. She was pretty good at the basics, levitating, making things disappear then reappear, and she had even got the hang of teleporting. Arriving unannounced in a pink smoke in her brother's room was always fun. 

“Emmaaa!!” Emma looks up from her spellbook to see Alex running through Granny’s to the back booth where she’s sitting. 

Alex sits down in front of her best friend grinning. “What is it?” Emma asks.

“Okay, so you know the girl I want to ask to Prom? I’ve been watching her-not in a stalkerish way, more in a I want to see her way-omg that sounds so stalkerish I promise I don’t just watch her all day long from-“ Alex babbles,

Emma cuts her off before she can go on anymore, “Alex, stop. What is it?” 

Alex takes a deep breath, “I think she’s friends with your brother, I’ve seen them talking a few times.” 

Emma rolls her eyes, she hates involving her brother in her schemes but this time she has no choice if it means her best friend is Happy.

The waitress walks over to their table with Emma’s hot cocoa, with cinnamon.

“Thanks, Thalia.” 

Thalia was in her brother's grade and had a pretty crappy home life so she worked at Granny's as much as she could. She also hated her brother.

“I still don’t understand how you and your brother are so different,” Thalia says as she hands her mug. 

Thalia was a million per cent in love with Neal, but Thalia’s father hated Emma's family, and she hated Neal because she was always told to hate the Charmings and because in her words, he was too perfect. 

Neal was the same, he learnt that Thalia did not like him for no apparent reason and so hated her by default too. They were always neck and neck for top spot in class and Emma would always know when she beat him as he would be in a sour mood the rest of the week.

She turns back to Alex, “so who is she?” Alex gives Emma a look as if she doesn’t want to say. “Look, I can’t help you if I don’t know who she is.” 

Alex sighs, “okay. It’s Robin, the girl with blonde hair and glasses in the same grade as your brother. Her mom is-was that wicked witch.”

“Robin Mills?” Emma asks. 

“Yes her. Like we’ve only ever spoken a few times in the library and she’s so sweet. I don’t know if she likes me but I’m crushing hard.” Alex says smiling.

“That’s so sweet.” Emma has never heard her friend speak about someone like that before. “So what do you need me to convince Neal to get her to talk to you or what?”

“I want them together at your house or something so that it’s not obvious. If she’s there with your brother, I can come over to yours and I can ask her there so that I don’t look like I'm desperate.” She explains.

“But you are desperate-?” Emma asks, still confused.

Alex shoots her a devil stare, “I know I’m desperate but she can’t know that.” 

Emma rolls her eyes, “okay whatever. But I don’t know if she’ll come over to ours, her mom doesn’t seem to like me. We had a few magic classes together when we were younger but her mom pulled her away and took her out of the class when we got close.” 

There were a few adults in Storybrooke like that, who would give Emma a stare when she was out and about, she tried asking her parents about it but they told her it was probably nothing and that people from the Enchanted Forest see her as their Princess so it’s still strange being here. 

“Okay if she can’t go over to your house, then here at Granny’s.” Alex tells her best friend as she heads out of Granny’s and leaves Emma to her hot cocoa and magic. “Love you!”

___

A handsome tall dark-haired stranger keeps appearing in Emma’s dreams. She’s never seen him before, she’s almost certain he doesn’t live in Storybrooke. Who is he?

___

Too lazy to walk home and blaming it on working on her magic, Emma teleports home from Granny’s in a puff of smoke, stumbling into her kitchen as she transports though, she can’t quite seem to get the landing right.

“What did we say about using magic to get home, Emma?” She hears her mother say. 

She gives her mother a sweet smile, “I have my magic exam just after Prom I’m practising! Plus this is totally harmless!” 

“Tell that to the carpet that’s got magic burns.” She hears her father's voice from across the room, to which she rolls her eyes at. 

She runs upstairs and dumps her stuff in her room before knocking on her younger brother's door. 

“I’m studying mom!” He calls out.

Emma just barges in to see him playing video games, “It’s summer you idiot! You really think mom is gonna fall for that?” 

Neal takes off his headset and puts down his controller, “what do you want?” 

Emma gives him her wicked smile to let him know he’s not going to like this. “Remember a few weeks ago when you snuck out at midnight and I covered for you with mom and dad?” 

“No.” He replies bluntly.

“Hmm shame. I wouldn’t want to tell mom and dad that the son they’re so proud of has been lying.” 

Neal groans, “fine. What do you need?” 

As the older sibling she normally gets whatever she wants from Neal by bribery and trickery, “Alex is crushing hard on Robin Mills-I’m pretty sure you know her.” 

“Ohhh it makes so much sense now.” Neal laughs, “I always thought she was looking at you, now I realise it’s Alex she was always stealing glances at.” 

“Okay, this is not my plan, this is Alex’s,” Emma explains, “you two need to be studying or something at granny’s tomorrow, then me and Alex walk in and we sit together nearby for a while until she gets the guts to ask her to Prom.” 

“That girl is so stupid.” Neal says rolling her eyes. Emma just nods in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I truly hope you have enjoyed this chapter, and the next chapter will explore more on Emma and her friends after High School, then we get to the angst which is my fave as I do love myself an angsty story!!
> 
> If you liked it please please please share your thoughts down below!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos! I really hope you enjoy this fic as much as I love writing it! The characters I’ve written who we don’t know anything about (Neal, Alex, Phillip etc) have been my favourite to write about so I hope you love them too!

The next day Alex’s plan is set into motion. Robin and Neal are in Granny’s right on time and in the perfect position. Thalia is also serving them, which Emma can see in her eyes, that she would rather be anywhere but there right now. 

This time Emma notices when Robin looks at Alex as she walks past and into the booth opposite them. She also notices her eyes still glued to her when she’s looking at the menu.

“So are you excited about going with Jensen to Prom?” Alex asks.

Emma shrugs, “I’m excited about Prom, and Jensen is cute but I’m not, like crazy about going with him.”

“I thought you had a crush on him?” Alex asks, surprised by her sudden change in opinion.

“Yeah I did earlier in the year but now I’m not so sure. See I’ve been having these really weird dreams.” Emma explains to her confused friend, “Remember when we were little and they used to say if you have a dream about someone you don’t know, they’re your soulmate?” 

Alex scrunches her brows, “I think I remember my mom saying something about that, why?”

“Well I’ve been having dreams about this guy with dark hair and blue eyes. I haven’t seen his face but it’s so weird I don’t think I’ve seen anyone like that in Storybrooke.” Emma was lost in thought until Alex snapped her back to reality.

“Hmm how strange” Alex smiles, “maybe you’ll meet him soon then.”

“So what about you?” Emma says in a slightly louder voice, enacting their plan to engage Robin, “have you found your date yet?”

Alex sighs, “no. I’m waiting for the right person. I mean there is someone but I’m too scared to ask her.” 

Out of the corner of her eye she notices Robin look up from whatever book she’s reading. Bingo. 

“Oh shoot” Emma says looking at her watch, still all part of the plan, “I said I’d meet my dad with lunch at the station.” She looks over at Neal, “hey dad said he wanted to see you too are you coming?” 

“Oh crap Robin I’m sorry I totally forgot. I’ll catch up with you later okay?” Neal says to his friend putting away his books, leaving her alone with Alex.

The siblings leave Granny’s, hopefully resulting in Alex getting her date for the Prom. 

“So does dad actually want to see us or was it just a part of your insane plan?” Neal asks once they’re outside.

Emma laughs, “I know it’s insane but Alex is crazy and I’d do anything for her! And Dad wants to see me, you can come as well.”

“I think I’ll just go home and study the spell book, seeing as we’ve got our tests coming up.” For Neal this test was the first of many that Emma had already completed, the test Emma had next was the first of the final two exams she’ll have to take, then she can use her magic freely in Storybrooke.

“Okay I’ll see you at Home.” And then she concentrates on transporting herself to the sheriff's station where her dad works. She closes her eyes and feels her magic build up inside her, and when she opens her eyes she’s arrived in a puff of smoke outside the station. 

“Yes! I did it!” She silently congratulates herself on getting the reappearing right and not messing up the landing, this was going to be on her final exam and she had always struggled with this, so at least she was confident in this before her exam.

  
  
  


___

  
  


Walking into the Sheriff's station, she sees her dad by the computer looking both tired and stressed. He’d been the Sheriff all her life and it was a stressful job, especially now he was getting older. Whilst there weren’t many criminals in Storybrooke (apart from the odd thieves who do it for a laugh and don’t get very far), it was still a stressful job keeping the town in order, and the local drunks away from the bars.

“Hey Daddy, you wanted to see me?” She smiles as he finally notices her standing in the doorway.

“Emma there you are! How did it go with Alex?” He asks.

Emma just laughs, “it’s a long crazy story I’ll tell you about it later! Now what is it that’s so urgent?”

David pulls up a chair for his daughter and gestures for her to sit down. “Your mother and I have been thinking, we know you don’t want to go to College in the outside world and that is totally fine with us-we want whatever will make you happy. So I propose, how about you come work at the Sheriff's station with me part time? You can be my deputy. I plan on retiring in a few years, so I can train you up and you can take over the job when you’re ready.” 

Emma has to stop herself from jumping up and down with excitement. “Really?

Emma had always admired her dad, and had always fantasised about doing his job, growing up he was her hero and the fact that he now trusted her to take over one day was music to her ears.

“I thought you said I was daddy's little princess and that you wouldn’t expose me to the evils of the world?” Emma asks grinning.

David just chuckles,”Well I used to think that. Now, you’re 18 and all grown up, I think whatever the world throws at you, you are able to handle it. The World should fear Emma Nolan.”

“Damn right the world should fear me!” Emma beams as her dad begins to show her the ropes of the station and what she would start out doing.

It was a strange experience to David, teaching his daughter how to do a job she had forgotten how to do, or rather had no memory of ever doing. As much as he missed the Emma he met as an adult, the Emma he and Snow had raised was still the strong independent woman who stood up for herself and her friends and family, but her walls were non-existent as she had grown up with a family, and the only heartbreak she’d experienced was due to stupid teenage boys and she was surrounded by so many people that loved her, and she was never alone. As much as he couldn't wait for her curse to be broken, to see his grandson again, (and his future pirate son-in-law who he had grown to like), it was nice to see the Emma he had raised was similar to the Emma he never got to raise.

______

2 weeks later was a pretty big day for Emma. It was her final magic exam in the morning, which would give her the freedom to do magic wherever and whenever she wanted. Before she could do magic in her own home, but like the times she used it to transport herself from one place to another, technically she was not allowed but she would argue she was “studying”.

Then in the evening, it was finally Prom Night. The six of them (Emma, Alex and Phillip plus their dates) were all meeting at Phillip’s house, and getting driven to the Town Hall which will be converted into the venue for the night. Turns out Alex finally plucked up the courage to ask Robin, and she accepted. They went dress shopping a while back, Alex opted for a blue (ironically) Cinderella style dress, whereas Emma went for a more plain Pink dress. Similar to the dress she wore on her first date with Killian, not that she knew this, but Snow got a little tearful about it.

Her magic test was at the convent, with Mother Superior/Blue taking the exam. She was nervous, but also excited, she had a good feeling that she was going to pass the exam-but it was still scary. When she passes, she can celebrate at Prom.

“Are you ready for this Emma?” Snow asks her daughter when she walks into the kitchen.

“I think I’m ready, I know everything and the Blue Fairy said at my last exam that she’s confident I’ll pass this one.” Emma beams as she makes herself her morning cup of coffee.

Of course Emma will pass her exam, she is the saviour, she saved Storybrooke so many times in the past, not that she remembers it. But she needs her magic to get Henry and Hook back in 10 years time when her curse is broken or lifted. Emma of course doesn’t remember or know any of this, she thinks she’s just really talented at using magic, which she is, but her family are relying on the Fairies passing her exam so she believes she did it on her own and will continue to use it over the next few years in case she needs to use it to break the curse put upon her.

___

“Okay Emma, that was very good.” The Blue Fairy was impressed at Emma’s magic, she was powerful before her curse but being taught from a young age with no previous ideas about magic has made her power stronger and she knew how to exactly wield it and use it. “Now can you tell me the different ways you can open a portal?” 

Another easy question, she had this in the bag.

“The easiest way is if you have a magic bean-it creates a portal that’s open for about a minute, you think of where you want to go then jump through. Another way is a hat or other object which has the power to transport you to a specific place, and lastly if you’re powerful enough you can cast a spell to open a portal-but you typically need a wand or other item that holds a great amount of power.” Emma tells the fairy, completely unaware that she had travelled through these portals many times before. 

The Blue Fairy smiled. “Very good. And for your final question, will you demonstrate transporting yourself from this side of the room, to the other side of the room?” 

Here we go. Last thing. Emma could do this. She had mastered it in the last few weeks, and it was now all riding on this. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on the spot she was on right now-then visualised the other side of the room in her mind. She closes her eyes and concentrates on feeling her magic bubbling inside of her, and when she opens her eyes she is successfully on the other side of the room, and she has perfected the landing. She was now beaming. 

The Blue Fairy walked over to Emma smiling. “That was very nice Emma, well done. I am pleased to say you passed your final exam. You are free to practise light magic inside the borderers of Storybrooke whenever you please as long as you use it for good and do not mess with dark magic.” 

Emma could not stop smiling, “Thank you! Thank you so much! I won’t let you down!” 

The first thing Emma does is disappear in her pink smoke and appear in Alex’s bedroom. 

“Jesus Christ Emma you need to stop that!” Alex practically falls off her bed when she appears out of nowhere. Then it hits her “OH MY GOD YOU PASSED!”

“I PASSED!” Emma screams.

Alex gets up off the floor to hug her best friend. “I am so proud of you!” 

Despite not being born with powers or any magical abilities, Alex has been with Emma through every step of the way and has helped her in any way that she could, so she was genuinely so proud of her best friend for passing her magic exam and not just because if Alex wants something that can be achieved with magic Emma will do it, as long as it’s not morally wrong.

“Okay so Phillip and everyone are coming over at 7, so we have until then to get ready and then we can celebrate your amazing news!” Alex tells Emma who is debating whether to go home and tell her parents the news, or just wait until tomorrow as now she can use magic she can make her dress appear right where she is. In the end she decides she will see her parents, and be back in less than an hour to get ready for Prom. 

Disappearing from Alex’s room in her puff of pink smoke, Emma appears in her own living room where her mother, father and brother were all sitting.

“You passed?” All three say when she appears in front of them.

Instead of answering, she simply levitated four glasses and a bottle of wine to the table and made the wine pour itself into the glasses. 

“Emma.” Her mother says to her with that look she always gives when she’s done something wrong. 

“Oh come on! Just this once! I passed my magic exam!” She pleads, knowing they’ll give in.

Snow and David exchange a look with each other. “Fine. Just this once. And Neal can’t have any.”

“What? No way!” Neal protests.

“You’re barely 17.” Snow argues.

“Oh please, when you two were our age you were at balls in the Enchanted Forest drinking far stronger alcohol than this.” Neal counter argues, he knows he’s right, so does Emma and so do their parents.

“You’re father was doing exactly that, I was on the run from my evil stepmother.” Snow says failing to prove her original point.

“You seem to forget I was a prince for only a few weeks until I was also on the run from my twin brother's step father. Before that I was with my mother on the farm.” David interjects. Rolling their eyes they give in though.

The four charming family members toast to Emma passing her final magic exam, and Snow and David are very glad as it means she will continue to use her magic until it’s time to break her curse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope people enjoy this chapter, we have one more chapter of a happy Emma Living her best life in my version of a calm and safe Storybrooke, and then it gets a little angsty! 
> 
> Please please please leave a comment if you liked it I’d love to know what people think!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those who have given kudos and commented I appreciate it a lot! This is the final chapter of cursed Emma, next chapter is where the fun and the angst begin!
> 
> Also I have renamed this fic “never forget you” as I really hated the name before but couldn’t think of a better one until now, and this describes the Neverland part as you shall soon!!
> 
> (Also I’m trying to post the picture that accompanies this fic but cannot seem to make it work so please if you know how to link it properly, message me on tumblr!)

  
The Summer of Emma’s last year before she started officially as Sheriff's deputy was wild. All in one day she passed her magic exam, meaning Prom was a magical night. The small glass of wine she convinced her parents to let her drink was not the only alcohol consumed that night. Luckily Emma did not make any bad decisions under the influence. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Alex who got a little too excited with the free bar and vomited outside the town hall, after she had been making out with Robin, but somehow Robin wasn’t offended, and even offered to take her home. 

Emma danced the night away and ditched her date after a couple hours, who she wasn’t really that interested in anyway, she danced with Alex and Phillip and that was all she needed to have a good time. Thankfully she didn’t get as drunk as Alex did, and saved herself the embarrassment of trying not to wake her parents or Neal at 4am, by appearing right in her bedroom. 

  
  


A week later was Emma’s graduation. The last time the 25 kids in Emma’s grade would all be together in one room at the same time. Sadly the three best friends were all sitting separately as they were organised by surname, Phillip was upfront and Alex only about 10 seats away, but Emma was on the last row. One by one, the Headmaster of the Storybrooke school called out their names, and shook their hands and have them a piece of paper that was pretty close to what a high school diploma looked like in the real world-if someone wanted to go to college in the real world, the fairies would enchant it to look more realistic. 

“Phillip Dailon Jnr” 

And so Phillip got up and walked across the stage to receive his ‘diploma’ and smiled as he saw his parents Aurora and Phillip clapping so hard, proud of their son.

“Alexandra Herman” 

Alex walks across the stage and everyone is clapping. Her parents were beaming with pride and even her 12 year old brother Myles was even clapping which didn’t usually happen. Even Robin and her mother were in the crowd clapping for her now girlfriend.

And then it was Emma’s turn.

“Emma Nolan.”

As she walked on the stage to receive her diploma she saw her two best friends in the crowd cheering as well her parents who she could tell her crying, and Neal was also cheering very loudly for his sister. 

Snow and David were so proud. This is all they ever wanted, to raise two children how they wanted (in a palace originally) without the fear of evil. They loved Emma so much, but they missed out on raising her and that broke them, she had been through so much and it was so unfair, but the fact that they could raise her the way they wanted to was a curse yes, but they felt bad for thinking of it as a blessing. They had no idea where their grandchild was, but they knew he was safe. And in 10 years time they would see him again. But they also feared if in 10 years time when the curse breaks, if Emma will go back to how she was.

  
  


>>>

Emma begins as her father's deputy and she loves it. She gets to ride around in her father's car with the sirens on and feel like the most important person in Storybrooke. It also helped that Alex, who had no idea what she was doing with her life, was working at Granny’s, and was always there to get Emma her bear claw in the morning and Grilled Cheese with Onion Rings when it was lunchtime. Phillip has decided he wanted to teach, and seeing as the school was growing with new kids each year they were in need of teachers. So he was to spend the next two years shadowing the teachers there and learning all there is to being a great teacher.

As a graduation present, Snow and David presented Emma with her yellow bug.

“It’s pretty old it’s been here since the curse, so it’s going to take some work but it’s yours.” Technically they weren’t lying, Emma was there in the first curse and so was her car. 

And on her 21st birthday, they finally let Emma have the house that she bought herself when she was the dark one-not that she knows or remembers this, again Snow and Charming said it was theirs during the curse. 

Neal has graduated high school and he decided to follow in his mother’s footsteps, he wanted to be an English Teacher at the school. He was really good at writing, (must run in the family Snow and Charming thought, always putting Henry’s writing abilities down to his father.) Also careful not to show any favouritism among their children, they gave Neal the keys to the apartment lot he grew up in for the first 2 years of his life. He only wanted an apartment, saying Emma’s house was far too big for one person. Which is exactly why she needed it, when the day comes she wouldn’t be the only person still living there. 

  
  


_____

Relationships came and went over the next 10 years for Emma and her friends. Alex and Robin were on and off for about 8 years, until Robin announced she was going to the Enchanted Forest to find her brother and learn more about her father. It broke Alex, so Emma and Phillip did what any friends would do, go out and drink the night away to forget about her.

Phillip has a girlfriend, Gracie who was also teaching at the Storybrooke school, they were always together until they broke up after three years. 

Emma was dating a boy named Tobias for about 4 years. He was better than her high school boyfriend who hated her magic, but still didn’t not exactly understand it. Emma had the feeling though that her parents didn’t like him very much, whenever he was there for Family Dinner they made little effort, but she just put it down to then being over protective. 

“He’s your first serious boyfriend, obviously your parents are not gonna like him.” Alex always told her.

And she was right, she was overthinking it. 

But.

She kept having dreams about someone else. It was the same someone she had been seeing for years in her dreams and she had no idea who it was. Dark hair, blue eyes. A lot, a lot, of leather. 

It was because the dreams were getting stronger that they eventually broke up. Emma liked him but even despite the dreams, she felt in her gut that he wasn’t the one. 

The dreams became weirder and more vivid. Now she could see herself in the dreams. This time the man was absent, but a little boy now was the centre of her dreams.

“ _You have to come home with me.” He kept saying._

_“Where is home?”_

_“Storybrooke, Maine.”_

_“You have to believe me. Why don’t you believe me?”_

_“Just because you believe something, doesn’t make it true.”_

Even though those words were coming from Emma’s mouth, she would never say that. She was always a strong believer, if you believe something enough it must be true. She had no idea who this little boy was, he was around 10 she would say but again like the man she had never seen him before-he wasn’t someone she’d seen before and she was good with faces. 

She even starts to dream of people she knows, but much younger versions of them. She saw herself, and her parents-but they were the same age as her, trying to assemble a crib. Was it Neals crib? But how and why? She tried asking Alex and Phillip what it meant, they just told her maybe her parents were having another baby. She shuddered to think if that were true. Thankfully they were not. She had accidentally walked in on them before when she was 12 and it scarred her for life. 

___

When Emma turned 25, she took over as the Sheriff full time when her dad stepped down. This was Emma’s chance to prove to both herself and her father how well she could do this job. Not that she needed to prove it to her dad, he knew just as well what she could do as a Sheriff-before her curse and even now. 

Emma appreciated having her own space with her own house. Not that she didn’t love her family, but they were insufferable sometimes. When your parents are the definition of true love, and you and your brothers magic are proof of that-there is only so much of their perfect marriage you can take. Also she needed space, sometimes she felt like they still treated her like she was 7 and she wanted to be her own person. Being in the house though, it was strange sometimes she felt like she had lived there before, the living room overlooked the docks and she could swear she saw a pirate ship sometimes, but for a split second and then it would disappear. She also had the desire to make out heavily on her couch, but she didn’t do one night stands and only seemed to want to do it with the dark haired mystery guy from her dreams. 

~~~~~~

In the months leading up to Emma 28th birthday the dreams became stronger. The curse was slowly breaking.

“I swear these dreams are getting way too realistic now. Last night I had a dream that I gave birth-but I was handcuffed to the bed?” She tells Phillip who she hopes can shed some light, make her feel as though she isn't going insane. 

  
“Sounds kinky.” Alex sniggers, Emma rolls her eyes.

“Maybe you lived another life like your parents, and you were cursed to remember.” Phillip jokes, but is he actually joking? Emma is starting to believe it.

  
  


___

  
  
  


_Once again the scene flashes._

_It's the blue eyed mystery man._

_They’re on a ship. A pirate ship. It also looks like they’re in the Enchanted Forest. It looks like they’re both pirates, he’s dressed in all black leather and she’s in a blue leather suit. She’s teaching him to use a sword, it’s such an intimate moment that if Emma wasn’t herself in this vision, she would have felt like she was intruding._

_“I sense we may be close in this other realm?” He says to her. His voice is deep and husky, but filled with emotion. What was this other realm? Was this dream signalling what Phillip told her about living another life? Was she cursed right now not remembering this?_

_“Yes. very.” Emma says to him, she has never sounded so flirty and she has definitely never acted the way she saw before in front of a guy. It was all becoming so familiar, yet still so confusing._

_~~~_

_She’s now in what looks to be the Library, the basement to be more exact. It’s where the Prom was held. But it looked darker, almost fiery if that made sense. It was the guy again. He was now in Black Jeans and a Black Leather Jacket, so more modern now they were in the real world she guessed._

_They’re next to the elevator shaft. Rushing to get away before it all collapses._

_“I want to say my goodbyes down here, without everyone watching.” He says, why are they saying goodbye?_

_“No.” The other Emma tells him, angry at the thought of it._

_He looks at Emma softly, “We’ve already had more time than we were ever meant to.”_

_“That’s not true-”_

_“We both know it's true.”  
_

_They say together cutting one another off._

_“You should’ve let me go in Camelot. Don’t make that mistake again.”  
  
_

_Camelot? With the knights of the round table? Emma knew Lancelot served as her mother's guard once and he was with Camelot, but when did she ever go there?_

_The Other Emma can barely speak, “I don’t know how to say goodbye.”_

_“Then don’t.” He says smiling despite the tears rolling down both their faces._

_Wait, was this the Underworld? Was he dying? Is that why she can’t remember, she knew Robin's father was killed by Hades, did he do something to her as well?_

  
  


_The scene flashes and suddenly Emma’s in an apartment she doesn’t recognise, it doesn’t look like anywhere in Storybrooke. She blows out a candle on a cupcake when she hears a knock on the door._

_When she opens up it’s a little boy, the same boy from her dreams. She doesn’t know exactly what he’s saying or what he says his name is, but she hears the words;_

_“I’m your son.”_

  
  
  


_It flashes and suddenly they’re in what seems to be the park in Storybrooke sitting on top of a wooden castle play frame._

_“I know why you gave me up.” The boy says, and Emma notices he’s holding the sacred storybook._

_“Oh yeah, why's that?” Emma asks him, but it’s as if she’s watching the scene play out in front of her rather than in her own body looking down at the boy._

_“It was to give me my best chance.” The little boy replies, still holding the book._

_The scene flashes again and the boy is lying in the Hospital in Storybrooke. Emma thinks he’s dying as he has a ton of tubes attached to him as well as a bunch of doctors with clipboards unclipping him from the life support. She sees herself crying over his lifeless body as she brushes his hair away from his forehead._

_“I love you Henry.” She sees herself say as she kisses his forehead. Henry, that's the kids name. Her son._

_A flash of light and the ground starts shaking. The little boy, Henry, opens his eyes with a gasp._

_“I love you too.” He says smiling as he notices her.”You saved me.”_

  
  


__________

  
  


Henry. Killian. 

Evil Queen, curse. 

Henry, her son.

Orphan. 

Storybrooke, curse.

Broken.

Hook.

Lots of curses.

28 years old and at last Emma’s curse was broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you have enjoyed the chapter! The Neverland story shall properly begin next chapter! 
> 
> If you liked it please comment your thoughts or find me on tumblr at killiansprincss!


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma wakes up from her curse and struggles with the fact she had 2 lives in her head. And most importantly where are Henry and Killian
> 
> (Quick psa the Neverland we explore in this story is different to the one we see in season 6, this is my story so this is my view on what Neverland is like after Pan)

Emma woke up on the morning of her 28th birthday and she felt like she had a hangover even though she hadn't been drinking. In fact, it was worse than a hangover because she had woken up with 2 lives inside of her head.

But it wasn’t like in New York, because that life was based on a lie and false memories, she actually had lived 2 lives. One as a daughter, a sister, a friend, and another as. Well, as an orphan. 

  
  


Henry, and Killian. The two missing mystery men. No wonder she was dreaming of those two the most, as she had no clue where they were. The two most important men in her life and she was clueless as to where to begin looking for them. Hopefully, her parents would have the answers. 

  
  


Her house. With the white picket fence, with a view of the water. 

The two people missing from it were the ones who chose it. 

How could this have happened? Things were going so well, the three of them were finally starting to be a family when the Queen ripped that away from them. She searches in her jewellery box that she’s looked through every day, hoping the one thing she wants is in there. Necklaces and bracelets and rings she’s received from her parents and friends over the years. It’s not there she thinks to herself. 

But then, at the bottom of the pile, it's there. Liam’s ring, the one Killian gave her back in Camelot all those years ago. She takes the silver ring on the chain and feels a sense of relief as she puts it over her head. She was going to find them, and bring them home.

The drive to her parents’ house, despite it only being less than a 5-minute drive, felt like a lifetime. She kept going over in her head(s) what was happening right now, she was meant to be celebrating her birthday with her parents and younger brother, the way they do every year, but now she was finding it strange that she had a family to do this. She _was_ an orphan who found her family at 28, but she wasn’t really an orphan now. Or was she?

She knocks on the door to her parents house, expecting a huge Happy Birthday banner and for them to sing, but instead her father has the sorrowful look in his eyes when he opens the door. There’s no ‘Happy Birthday’ because he obviously knew what was coming. 

“I remember,” is all she says as she just starts to cry. 

The old Emma, the orphan would never cry, especially in front of her parents, but the girl who grew up with a family cried over the stupidest things 

“Come in, we'll talk all about it.” David says putting his arm around her leading her inside.

Wiping her tears away she asks, “what happened?” 

David and Snow look at one another trying to figure out the best way to explain the situation. “The Evil Queen, she said turning you into a toddler was the best way to get to each of us.” They begin to explain, going through all the details of how they eventually captured the Queen using squid Ink and how Regina has sacrificed herself to save everyone. 

“Wh-what about Henry and Killian?” Emma asks when they’ve finished.

Snow takes a deep breath before saying, “we don’t know. When it happened they ran off to another realm we think, we haven’t heard from them since it happened.”

Emma looks like she could be sick, or faint, or both.

Seeing her face David quickly adds, “they’re safe though don’t worry. We believe Gold had a hand in wherever they escaped to, we can go ask him.” 

  
  


“No-“ she cuts them off, “I’ll go. Just me. Henry’s my son and I have no idea where he is, I haven’t been his mother for 25 years.”

  
  


“Emma, you didn’t have a choice. He forgives you for putting him up for adoption, of course he’ll forgive you for not being there when you were under a curse.” Snow tells her, caught off guard by her sudden attitude-the Emma she raised would never do something this important alone. She was going to have to get used to the fact that the Emma she didn’t raise was seeping back in, the one who liked to work alone. The Orphan.

  
  


“Before you go beat up Gold to find out where Henry is,” David says, giving her a large rectangular box, “I thought you might want this.”

  
  


Emma takes the box, and slowly opens it to reveal her red leather jacket. Her armour. She hasn’t needed her armour growing up with a family, but now…

She took off her armour when she realised she wanted a future with Killian. But now, she didn’t know if there was a future with him.

_______

  
  


She decides to walk to Golds shop. Feeling slightly betrayed by everyone she needs the fresh air. That is until she bumps into her best friend Alex.

“Happy Birthday Emma!” She screams and hugs as she sees her. “I know it’s only a Tuesday but I was thinking tonight we can go drinking at the Rabbit Hole, like I’m working there until 8 and then I have tomorrow off,” she starts babbling, Emma feels so mean but all she can think about is Henry and getting him back.

“I can’t, I need to find my son. I need to find him I don’t know.” She starts to ramble, she knows Alex won’t understand, but she can’t think straight.

Alex looks perplexed, “I’m confused, you don’t have a son? Emma are you feeling okay?”

“No!” She cries, “nothing in my life is real, none of this. It’s all lies I don’t.”

Alex takes Emma’s hand, “Em. It’s okay. I’m your best friend, I’ve known you for your whole life, whatever you’re going though I’m here.”

“No that’s the problem, you don’t know me. At all. My life, growing up with you, it’s all based on a lie.” As soon as Emma said it, she knew it came out wrong.

Letting go of her hand Alex replies, “okay well if that’s how you feel then forget it. I was only trying to help. So much for being best friends.” And storms away, hurt by what Emma said.

She tried to call after her, but it was no use. And plus even if she tried to explain what was going on she wouldn’t believe it. 

___

Standing outside of the Pawn Shop is strange. She had been inside many times before in her past life, but not once in the past 25 years. She stands outside for a moment debating what to say, but in the end she just storms inside. She sees the dark one inside in all his horrific glory, despite not having aged much he still looks awful.

“Where the hell is my son Gold?” She demands.

  
  


“Why Miss Nolan, I didn’t realise you had a son?” Emma rolls her eyes, the typical Dark One avoiding the question at hand.

  
  


“Don’t play dumb okay. Henry. Your grandson. Where. Is. He?” She demands again. 

  
  


He finally looks up from his books. “Ah, has it been 25 years already? Well I believe birthday wishes are in order!”

  
  


Emma sighs, this isn’t going to be easy. “Look. My parents told me Henry and Killian made some kind of deal with you after what happened to me. They’re in some other realm or something, I want to know where, and how you can get them back.” 

  
  


“Well I told them where they could go. Doesn’t mean they’re still there. As for getting them back, I’m afraid you’ll have to do that yourself.” He explains. 

  
  


“Okay then do something to find them.” She practically yells at him.

  
  


“Blood magic can be used to find your son, for your one handed pirate lover I'm afraid there’s no way of finding him.” Emma’s heart sinks, but she knows Henry is the most important person to find right now. 

  
  


He reaches under the counter to grab something, part of Emma wishes she had her gun but at the same time she knew that wouldn’t work on him, and her parents probably got rid of that a long time ago. It’s the same white atlas-like ball he used to locate Henry when he was kidnapped by Pans' minions.

  
  


“Before you do anything, if that’s a locator spell we are using my blood. Forgive me if I don’t trust you, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you do anything.” She tells him.

  
  


He nods in understanding. Emma gives her hand over and he and he pricks it on the top of the globe, slowly releasing her finger onto the white globe and the blood rushes around forming different shapes until they finally form one shape and glow.

“What does that mean?” She asks.

He smirks, “why it’s Neverland dearie.” 

The pit of Emma’s stomach gurgled, and it wasn’t because she hasn’t eaten anything today. 

Neverland.

Where Henry was taken the first time. Also the place where she finally admitted to herself that she felt something for Killian, and where he told her after kissing her he saw himself loving someone again.

It was where she accepted the fact she was an orphan, a lost girl. 

“So do you have a magic bean or something?” She asks, ignoring her overwhelming thoughts inside her head. 

The Dark one just laughs, “you think if I had an endless supply to magic beans I would still live here?” 

Emma just glares at him, “so how do I get there? What happened to the wand you had? It created portals before?”

“That wand was lost a long time ago. As for portals, you and your brother are born of the truest love, your powers are of the strongest light magic. You created a portal once when you went back in time, I’m sure after years of training and love you’ll be able to do it again.” He explains. “Meet me back here later with your family and I’ll show you.” 

____

_Alex called and told me what happened with you guys. Call me_

A text from Phillip reads. Emma knew this would happen eventually. Storybrooke isn’t a large town, everyone lives nearby, so she walks over to his apartment.

She knocks on the door, “Phillip, it’s me open up.” 

He opens the door and she walks in, “look I can explain. Alex is just-“

“Hey I’m not judging you, but I don’t get it, you and Alex never fight.” He cuts her off her, he’s right she and Alex had an argument when they were 12 about something so stupid but aside from that they never argue or fight.

“Look what I’m about to tell you is crazy-“ she begins, but is cut off.

“You were cursed and because today is your birthday the curse has been lifted and you realise you’ve lived 2 lives.” He states. Wow okay maybe he would understand.

Noticing her confused look he explains, “you’ve been having crazy dreams for years and then I’ve overheard my mom talking to your mom about how sad your whole situation is and that you were always so kind when you first met in the Enchanted Forest. She was then asking about will it be your birthday when the curse is lifted. Also, the stories of the saviour resemble you a little too much, especially sketchy seeing as nobody who knew the saviour will say anything about her if you ask.” 

“Wow. Okay. So you understand?” She asks.

“Not really but I gather, you have a son from before you got to Storybrooke and that stranger you keep having sex dreams about-I’m guessing he’s your husband or something?” He tells her. She smiles slightly at the way he thinks Killian is her husband. 

“Yeah sort of.” And she goes on to give him a brief history of her life, growing up as an orphan and going to jail, giving birth to Henry, and then about her Storybrooke journey leading up to how she was cursed to be a toddler by the Evil Queen. 

Taking it all in, “Damn. That’s a lot. I’m sure Alex will come around once she learns the truth. You know her, she is dramatic.”

She nods. She will explain to Alex everything but she wanted to give her time to cool off, and every minute spent explaining she could be finding Henry, and hopefully Killian.

~~

Walking back to her parents house again was a long journey. The last time they were all in Neverald was a long time ago and their relationship was a little strained-she couldn’t accept that Snow and David were her parents, and she was nervous about Henry, and Hook was there fighting for her heart and also battling Neal too. 

Oh god Neal. Little brother Neal. She hadn’t even thought of how he was going to take the news that he has a nephew that was born before he was but ( if the magic of Neverland was still providing youthfulness) younger than him. Phillip had overheard conversations and put missing puzzle pieces together, and she had hoped Neal would have done the same, but she doubted it. And apparently their magic combined would be strong enough to create a portal. They had never done their magic together before.

  
  


______

______

  
  


Neal Nolan was working as an English Teacher in Storybrooke High. He had grown up with his older sister Emma, who was a year older than him. Or so he thought. Neal had no idea of the news he was about to be hit with about his sister.

Neal knocks on the door to his parents’ house with his gift for his sister. He got her a Granny's gift card and a new brown sheriffs jacket (which his girlfriend Thalia helped him pick out) and expects to see Emma in the goofy birthday hat they have both worn on their birthdays since they were 5, but instead, his dad opens the door and he walks in to find Emma looking through the Storybook almost crying.

“Everything okay?” He asks.

Emma looks at him, almost horrified. “We gotta talk.”

He debates whether to say Happy Birthday or not. He decides against it. 

“I have no idea how you’re going to take this news,” Emma begins, “One thing is that you are an uncle.”

Nels eyes widen “You’re pregnant?”

“NO!” Emma shouts “Not, no, definitely not.”

Neal is even more confused.

“You are an uncle, but I’m not pregnant. I was, but I'm not now, or well I was a long time ago” Emma starts rambling and making no sense, Neal is even more confused now-When did Emma have a kid?

“Maybe we should back up a little.” Snow says, seeing her son's confused face.

And so the three of them explain how Emma was put through the magic wardrobe to eventually save everyone. How Emma met Neals namesake and thus Henry was born but given up for adoption. Then all about her journey in Storybrooke and breaking the curse, and all the other journeys and curses up until the one where she was turned into a toddler. And how said son and Emma’s boyfriend ran away to Neverland, a place where nobody grows old.

  
  


Looking at the photos of Emma holding her baby brother was slightly concerning considering Emma in the photos looked exactly as she did now, yet Neal was a baby. If he hadn’t just been told Emma’s previous life story, he would’ve sworn they were photoshopped.

“Okay, so what happens now?” Neal asks, worried about the answer.

“You and I have to create a portal to Neverland to save my son and True Love,” Emma tells him as though it’s obvious.

“Wait a second, you and I create a portal, like combine our powers?” Neal asks slightly worried about this, they had never combined their powers before and now they were meant to create a portal, everything that could possibly go wrong was likely to happen.

“I realise it’s crazy, but we have no choice. You just gotta trust me.” Emma knows Neal can never say no when she says this, as his older sister Emma always got him to do what she wanted by saying “trust me”. Despite getting into trouble most of the time when they were younger with the whole trusting Emma, even now as a 26 year old man, he couldn't say no to his sister.

  
  


Neal just sighs, “Okay. Let's do this.”

  
  


Neal had never stepped inside Mr. Gold's Pawn shop. When he was younger he heard stories of kids sneaking in and touching different items therefore getting cursed with the insane amounts of dark magic in his shop. Now he was older, he knew this was just a story, but it didn’t make him any less nervous to enter his shop, there was an insane amount of light and dark magic inside that freaked him out.

There was something different about Emma, the way she walked and held herself. She was less confident, very aware of her surroundings, normally she was more confident and whilst she was aware people knew her (both as Snow White oldest child, and the current sheriff), she never let this bother her, whereas now, supposedly everyone their parents age would have known her before her curse, people were looking at her wondering if she had broken her curse yet. Even as they enter Mr Gold's shop, which wasn’t actually as scary inside as he pictured, she walked in very determined,

“Okay were here. How do we do this?”

“Patience Miss Nolan.” He tells her.

“Ah and the youngest of the Charming broods I see.” Mr Gold says looking at Neal, who suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. He knew of the things he had done to people, innocent people, in the Enchanted Forest and that made his stomach churn. But his parents (and Emma apparently now too) have trusted him in the past, and Neal guessed so should he.

“Before we make this portal, you don’t do things out of the goodness of whatever heart you have left. What did you ask for in return?” Emma really was not the older sister he grew up with, she was this independent, confident and slightly argumentative woman that looked like his sister, but had a different aura about her.

“For my grandson I was willing to let the poor lad have this without a deal. As for the pirate.” He sneers, Neal was told The Dark One had a colourful history with Hook, and he was seeing this already. “I simply reminded him of the 300 years he spent in Neverland and what, desires, may still lurk.”

Neal had no idea what this meant, and neither did Emma by the looks of it. 

“Now, you two are born of the purest true love therefore your powers combined can create some pretty serious magic.” Gold explains, “Now I need the two of you to hold your hands together and believe you are strong enough. You need to think of the portal in your minds, you will feel it when it is ready.”

And so the siblings to just that. They take each other's hands, standing opposite one another and close their eyes. They then take a deep breath and think of a portal in their minds, letting their magic grow and rise above them. 

Emma thinks of Henry, and of Killian. She thinks of Neverland in her mind, and when Henry was kidnapped, she thinks of how badly she wanted to get him back and the things she had learnt about herself, about how much she loved Henry. And about how she was feeling something for Hook.

Both siblings can feel the magic, it’s a part of them and it's rushing around their insides like their blood. Gold said they would feel it when the portal was ready, and he was not wrong. It almost splits the two siblings apart, but they hold on to one another until they just know it’s ready.

The two siblings open their eyes and see a door, a green door with black etchings and designs. It's the portal to Neverland.

They're going to save Henry. Again.

  
  


_______

  
  


The four charming family members step through the beautifully crafted door, the portal to Neverland. They had packed a few bags and Emma was going to see her son (and hopefully true love) for the first time in 25 years. She could be sick.

The greenery of Neverland greets them as they walk through the door, the humidity and vast amount of jungle and sea that they had seen once upon a time. They arrive near the coast, and Emma can’t see the Jolly Roger in the water, but she had to think positively. If Killian was here she would find him. But only after they found Henry.

She looks over at her parents, and they have the same look on their faces. Fear, determination and awoken memories they had shoved into the back of their minds. After all, Emma wasn’t the only person to go through hell in Neverland, her father was poisoned with dreamshade and had planned to spend the rest of eternity here after drinking the rejuvenating waters.

And poor Neal who only found out a few hours ago that she was actually a lot older than him and was cursed, and now he was in Neverland searching for two people he had only met as a baby. 

“Let’s head into the jungle then.” Emma says to her family. And so they head off, into the green jungle filled with who knows what. Now Pan was dead, who knows who now ruled Neverland. 

It looks the same as it did 30 years ago, but it feels different. The Magic on the Island feels different, she knows this now, by studying magic for years taught her to sense different types of magic and this was some kind of mix of light dark magic. Not as powerful as Dark One Magic, but not the light magic she feels inside herself. Whatever was keeping this Island alive was clearly a type of magic not found in Storybrooke. 

They’re walking for probably an hour when Neals plucks up there courage and asks, “Do you recognise anything here?” 

  
  


Emma wants to ignore him and shut him out, the way she would’ve done before, but he was her brother, “Honestly, no. I thought I would but it all looks the same.” 

  
  


“I think we should keep walking, I think we’re on a ridge right now and I assume there’s flatland where we can set up camp a little further up.” Their mother cuts in. Snow was a bandit and a runaway for years when her father was killed, so she knows how to scope out new lands and find a place to set up camp, so they don’t question it and sure enough another little while and they find flat land that seems like a good enough place to set up camp.

  
  


“Let’s not use magic to set it up though,” Emma tells her brother, “we don’t know what sort of magic is used here, or who now rules this Island and if they can detect magic. It’s just safer to do it the normal way.” 

Everyone nods as they begin to set up. Emma is terrified, she has been since she woke up and realised her life was a lie. She had grown up the way she always wished to, with a family, but now she had broken her curse, it didn’t feel right. She abandoned two people she loved, one being her son. The first family she had in 28 years.

They had run away. So heartbroken that they ran from their home. That didn’t make her feel good about herself. Henry has forgiven her for giving him up as a baby, but will he forgive her for this?

“Emma! Emma!” 

She’s snapped out of her thoughts by her brother's voice. 

“Sorry, I was zoned out.” She tells him.

“Hey it’s okay don’t worry.” He can clearly sense what’s happening in her brain, though he has no idea of the extent. “I know you said no magic, but don’t you think it’s a good idea to put up a protection spell around our camp? To keep out whoever or whatever might attack us.”

Her little brother was brilliant. Though his magical _abilities_ were not as good, lucky for him was not _the saviour_ so his magic wasn't as strong, but what he did know was his magical history and the theory behind magic, much more than Emma did. 

“That's actually a really good idea! You can cast it if you want, I’m a little weak after the portal.” She lies, she’s not weak, she's just scared of using her magic. In her real-or before her cursed life, she didn’t use magic unless it was serious, when she was the Dark One she used it for everything just like in her cursed life. 

He believes her lie, why wouldn’t he, she never normally lies to him. He casts the protection spell eagerly, not normally given the chance to do magic. 

“We should rest. It’s dark, and we’re not gonna be able to find Henry now. Let’s sleep, and we can figure out our plan in the morning. We also don’t know who or what is in charge of this Island, don’t want to run into them in the middle of the night.” David says to his family, to which they all agree. Emma is exhausted and her dad is right, there’s no point starting now all she knows is he is on the Island somewhere, maybe he’s imprisoned, or worse, enjoying his time on the island where you don’t grow up.

Sharing a tent with Neal when they were kids was a fun adventure, but as two adults, one who was snoring very loudly, it was a very different story. As tired and exhausted as Emma was, or thought she was, she could not sleep. Killian once told her he was never able to sleep in Neverland, as you can hear the cries of the other lost boys and girls. 

  
  


But you can only hear their cries if you are also a lost one.

  
  


Sure Emma had a family, and she grew up surrounded by people who loved her, she had 2 best friends and a little brother. She was the furthest thing from a lost girl. But she was an orphan. For 28 years, she was an orphan who was never wanted, and gave up her child at 17. That part of Emma will never go away. 

Giving up on trying to sleep, she gets out of the tent and sits on the log to try and clear her head. If it’s even possible to do that with the cries of lost ones.

She thought about the two men she was here to save. The last time she had seen Henry, it was saying goodbye to him on the school bus, it was a Friday so they planned to have a Star Wars marathon that weekend. Emma had stocked the freezer with Ice Cream especially. Finally Killian would learn and understand their references to Star Wars. She hoped Henry would still be the same smart little kid who questioned everything. 

  
  


And Killian. God she missed him. He would bring her coffee in the mornings when she had an early start, and when she was on a night shift at the station he would be at home cooking her breakfast. If she hadn’t been cursed, they would’ve been married and had a kid or two by now. They were finally happy, finally without walls, and she had a feeling Killian was going to propose. But of course he never got the chance.

She loses her train of thought when she hears a twig being stepped on. Her impulses kick in and she hides behind the large tree to her left. She hears someone whistling, as if signalling to somebody. She sees him in the distance. A lost boy, around 15, dark hair, like…

  
  


“Henry!” She jumps from behind the tree and in front of her son. 

  
  


He looks startled, obviously because she scared him and also he hasn’t seen her for 25 years. “Mom?”

Emma is smiling so hard right now, “Henry!”

  
  


Henry can’t seem to get words out, “m-mom? Is? It’s-you-you’re here?” 

  
  


She goes to embrace her son with tears streaming down her face. “I’m here. It’s broken. The curse.”

  
  


She pulls back and wipes away her tears. 

  
  


“Is it really you?” He asks. 

  
  


Emma looks different to how he remembers her. Her blonde hair is in a french braid, something she only learned to do in this life. Her clothes are nicer, but still donning the red jacket. Henry knows it’s her, but could it really be her?

  
  


“It’s me. Henry. It’s really me. I know you love cinnamon on your hot cocoa, and Operation Cobra brought me to Storybrooke and you made me believe in magic in everything.” Emma’s practically sobbing, she didn’t expect to see him so soon.

  
  


Henry looks nervous constantly checking his surroundings, “I can’t stay. If you’re truly my mom, then meet me here tomorrow morning when the sun rises over the place they took my heart.” With one last look he runs away into the darkness of Neverland. 

  
  


Emma is stunned for a second, confused as to what just happened. Was there someone following him, or did he need to be somewhere? 

  
  


_The place where they took my heart_

  
  


_Dark Hollow_. She tried to look around but it was dark, hopefully in the morning she would be able to see the sun rising over it. 

Just as she’s pondering over the last minute with Henry, she’s startled by another voice. 

“Swan.” 

She hasn’t heard that name in 25 years. And there’s only one person who calls her that.

“Killian.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay we are in Neverland! This is where the story starts to pick up and we have a lot of drama and Captain Swan are finally reunited! Please let me know what you think and find me on tumblr at killiansprincss


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone who reads this I just want to say thank you. This is the first multi chapter fanfic I’ve written in probably 6 or 7 years so my writing may not be perfect but I’m so in love with this story I’ve created, it’s definitely better than the Twilight fan fiction I was writing 10 years ago! So please leave any positivity down below I’d love to hear it, or find me on tumblr at killiansprincss

Killian Jones. He was here. Emma’s true love. The man she lost.

“Swan.”

“Killian.” 

Emma couldn’t believe her eyes. It was him. Killian. The man she loved.

Hearing her former surname come out of his mouth was a strange feeling. She hadn’t been Emma Swan in a very long time. Emma Swan was an orphan, a girl she doesn’t recognise anymore. Emma Nolan on the other hand, is loved and was always loved, never on the streets and not a pregnant 16 year old in Jail.

  
  


The tears were fighting their way out of her eyes. “Killian, it’s you.” 

  
  


“No.” His voice is harsh, and brash. “No. Not again.”

  
  


“Killian. Killian. It’s me. It’s Emma.” Emma knew Killian was not a fan of Neverland, that it can play mind tricks on you, but she had to convince him she was real.

  
  


“No, I don’t believe you.” He kept saying over and over. 

  
  


He laughs at the sky, “Cecelia if this is another of your tricks it’s not funny.” 

  
  


Who the hell was Cecelia?

  
  


“Killian. It’s me. It’s Emma. When we first met, you were working for Cora and you said you were a blacksmith, then we climbed the beanstalk. You flirted with me in the Hospital in Storybrooke when you were hit by that car. We went back in time and made sure my parents met, you traded your ship-the Jolly Roger for me. Killian, it’s Emma. I’m here and I love you, now we can go home.” 

  
  


The way Emma told him she loves him just so casually was shocking even for herself, well her old self who was too scared to say it most times. But Emma Nolan didn’t have walls up to protect herself. She didn’t need them.

  
  


Killian looks at her for a moment, almost contemplating what she just sad, and for that moment Emma believed everything would be okay. “Nice try, Emma looks nothing like this, but good try I guess.” 

  
  


And then Killian just walks away into the dark jungle of Neverland leaving Emma stunned and hurt.

  
  


In the space of 5 minutes Emma had seen the two people she had come to save, and both looked at her as if she were nothing and nobody.

_____

Emma doesn't sleep that night, she can’t. Too many thoughts going round in her head. 

  
  


“I saw them.” She tells her family when they wake up the next morning. “I saw Henry and Killian, I talked to them.”

  
  


David looks at his daughter slightly confused by this revelation, “What happened? What did they say?”

  
  


Emma half laughs and can't quite answer. “Well. They didn’t believe it was me. Hook straight up refused to believe I was real and that I was a trick even after I poured my goddamn heart out to him. Henry also didn’t believe it was me, but he said if it was me, he would meet me by the tree when the sun shines on the place they took his heart.” 

  
  


“The place where they took his heart?” Her brother asks, shocked and slightly scared.

  
  


“It’s a long story.” Snow tells her son.

  
  


“The place where they took his heart, that’s Dark Hollow right?” David asks, it’s been a long time since they were in Neverland, and he tried to forget some of the awful things that happened years ago in Neverland, pushing them into the back of his mind.

  
  


Emma nods. “I can see it slightly over there,” pointing over to the west side of the island, “and it seems like the sun will shine over it pretty soon.” 

  
  


“Neal and I will go fetch some water, I think I remember seeing a water stream about a mile away from camp.” David says, feeling like Emma needs to have a deep conversation about Hook, and knows her mother will be the best option. 

  
  
  
  


“You want to talk about it?” Snow asks her daughter once the boys had left.

Emma looks over at her mother and sighs. “I don’t know what to say. This isn’t like the curses you’ve been under, you and dad were both cursed in the original one that brought you to Storybrooke. Then when it broke, you both ran into each other’s arms and nothing else mattered.”

“And Hook didn’t exactly run into your arms.”

Emma’s lip trembled, tears starting to form. “What happened? I didn’t think it would be this hard.”

She didn’t know if she should continue crying, the old Emma would never cry, but new Emma has cried over ex boyfriends and grazed knees. 

  
  


“Emma think about it, Henry and Hook ran off to Neverland when you were cursed. A place where you don’t age, they have been waiting for you for 25 years, they haven’t forgotten about you. Hook lived here for almost 300 years, you know how horrible it was for him, and we all know Neverland plays mind tricks on you. They did this all so they wouldn’t grow old themselves, watching you grow up. They knew that when you finally remembered you’d find them exactly as you left them.” Snow strokes her hair, the way she used to when she was younger when she was upset over something, and Emma didn’t cower away. She needed this. 

  
  


She wipes away her tears and looks at her mother, “what if they don’t want to come home?” 

“Oh honey, they will. They both love you so much, they are coming home with us.” Snow says again stroking her hair. 

  
  


The Charming men come back with a few buckets of water, and the sun is almost shining over Dark Hollow.

“It’s almost time!” Emma says wiping away her tears, getting ready to see her son. 

“Oh god. Regina, Henry. He doesn’t know she’s gone. Oh no. This is Archie all over again, except she really is dead. I’ve forgotten how to be a mother, I don’t know what to do.” She’s panicking.

“Emma, listen. You haven’t been his mother for 25 years, he’ll forgive you if you don’t feel like you’re doing well.” Snow explains, hoping she’s making her feel better. “If it’ll make you feel better I can try and explain what happened to him, I was there, I saw it, it still haunts me.”

Emma nods, “that would be good. Okay the sun is shining over the place where they took his heart, he should be here any moment.”

Emma felt so guilty, she saw him the previous night unexpectedly so hadn’t had time to prepare what she would say to him. The last time she saw him was not the best.

_____

_“Henry, can you come down to Dinner.” Emma yells up the stairs, she had just got in from a long shift at work and wanted a nice family dinner just the three of them._

_“5 more minutes mom, I'm almost at level 89.” He yells back._

_“Is he playing video games?” Emma asks Killian, who is confused too._

_“I thought he was doing his homework?” Killian answers, at least, that’s what he was meant to be doing._

_Emma can feel her anger burning, it had been a long day and Henry knew very well he was meant to be completing his math homework. “That’s it, I’m going up there.”_

_She stands outside his room for a few seconds, hoping she’s mistaken._

_“Level 89 yeahhhh!” she hears from inside his room._

_She opens the door with a look that could kill. “Henry. What happened to your homework?” She asks, anger bubbling up inside of her._

_“Um, uh, it’s-I, I finished it.” Henry stammers, wishing he had a better excuse._

_“Oh you finished it?” She asks, picking up his half finished worksheet on the bedside table, “So what's this?”_

_Henry sighs, “why can’t you just back off, I’m having trouble with math and I’ll finish it later.”_

_“If you’re having trouble why didn’t you say so instead of ignoring it and playing video games? Killian is surprisingly really good at modern math you could’ve asked for help.”_

_“Ask help from a pirate for my math homework-yeah because that will go down great.” Henry knew it was rude, but she had been on at him about math for weeks and he was getting so sick of it._

_“Henry I am just trying to help. We may not live in a normal town, but you still need to act like a normal teenager and that includes doing homework.” Emma walks over to his tv, and unplugs and game console and sets his math textbook on the desk. “I’ll bring your dinner up to you, but you will get this back when your math grades improve.” And she walks out of his room and back downstairs with his controller._

_She was being harsh, she never normally raised her voice with Henry, but she wanted them to be as normal a family as they could be._

_Henry didn’t speak to her the rest of the night, even when she brought his plate of food up to him. He was being stubborn by giving her the silent treatment and tried to finish his math homework. He was then in bed early so when she came to check on him a few hours later he was already asleep._

_In the morning he got up early and went to Reginas. At school he sent her a text apologising, but by then it was too late._

  
  


_____

  
  


Killian Jones hated Neverland. He hated it. He had lived in Neverland for nearly 350 years now. It was not a place of dreams and magic. It was worse than hell, and he had been to the Underworld.

But he had no choice. Four times he had come to Neverland now. Each time he left, he claimed he would never come back, but unfortunately fate works in mysterious bloody ways. This was the first time he had been that was not under Pans rule. Now, Neverland was back under control of the fairies, and aiding sleeping lost kids find their way home. No children were taken from their beds, only their spirit dream self travelled to the Island.

He wouldn’t say it was better now it was under the fairy rule, they were as manipulative as Pan was-but in different ways. 

“Hello Captain.” An enchanting voice draws him from his thoughts. 

“Cecelia.” A dark skinned, fiery red haired fairy dressed in a purple gown greets him.

“You’re out here early tonight.” She says.

  
  


Every night in Neverland, Killian helps the lost kids of the world find peace for a night in Neverland, or at least he attempts to.

“I have a strange feeling someone I’m going to meet tonight will be important.” Killian couldn’t quite explain what he was feeling, was there a lost kid needing his help tonight? Had he helped them before? He didn’t like to interfere with many kids, seeing as the last time it happened it went wrong. But the magic in Neverland was strong and something was tugging at him. 

Cecelia smiles at him. “Well that’s good. Hopefully you’ll be able to guide another lost child back home tonight.” 

Cecelia was a beautiful creature, a fairy as old as Neverland itself. She was born here and in the early days before Pan tried to take the power, she and her sisters tended to the Island's magic. A few hundred years into Pan’s reign, she and her sisters were banished to live with the Fairies in the Enchanted Forest, but they eventually fought their way back to the Island right under Pan's nose. 

She flies off to tend to the pixie dust that allows the sleeping children to travel to the Island, leaving Hook alone with his thoughts again. 

  
  


He had no idea how long he had been here, he had learnt a long time ago never to count the days. Neverland will play tricks on your mind leaving you confused. It could be a year, it could be a couple hundred years. 

He begins his walk to the lost ones clearing, where he will greet the dreaming children who visit in the night. It’s a long walk and he needs to clear his head. Something is tugging at him, but he can’t quite figure out what. Maybe it’s a lost child who needs his help specifically? But why his? Henry was normally the best at helping them find their way home. 

  
  


“Meet me here tomorrow at the place where they took my heart.” 

Was that Henry’s voice? Who was he talking to? Assuming he was referring to the time he was taken to Neverland by Pans minions. But nobody on this Island knew that story. 

Killian walks over to where Henry’s voice was coming from, but doesn’t see Henry. Instead. 

“Swan.”

It was Emma. Emma Swan, the bloody love of his life. The woman he saw turned into a toddler in front of his own eyes. The only reason he’s on this damn island in the first place. 

“Killian”

He had waited for this day for so long. He wanted to run to her and kiss her, run his hand and hook through her blonde hair and hold her in his arms.

But.

“No, not again.” He says. His voice went from soft to brash once he realised this was clearly some cruel trick.

When he was in Neverland after Milah had died he used to see visions of her. He would see her dark hair in the distance and hear her call out his name. Then as soon as he would get close, she would disappear. It had happened many times over the 300 years he was here the first time. And it wasn’t the first time he had seen Emma either. 

“Killian. Killian. It’s me. It’s Emma.” She tells him. 

“No, I don’t believe you.” He kept telling himself, over and over. He wouldn’t fall for this. No matter how realistic she looks. 

Killian looks up at the sky and laughs, “Cecelia if this is another of your tricks it’s not funny.” 

He didn’t know who was playing these mind tricks on him, but it was only Cecelia that knew about Emma and why he was here.

“Killian. It’s me. It’s Emma. When we first met, you were working for Cora and you said you were a blacksmith, then we climbed the beanstalk. You flirted with me in the Hospital in Storybrooke when you were hit by that car. We went back in time and made sure my parents met, you traded your ship-the Jolly Roger for me. Killian, it’s Emma. I’m here and I love you, now let’s go home.” 

  
  


This wasn’t the Emma he knew. She was pouring her heart and soul out for him. Emma didn’t do that. She was more reserved, her walls were up. Killian had knocked a few down and she was more open now, but he knew Emma wasn’t the kind of girl to confess her feelings all at once.

“Nice try, Emma looks nothing like this, but good try I guess.” He says laughing. Now he looks at her, it’s so obvious she isn’t his Emma. 

  
  


And so he leaves imaginary Emma and walks further into the dark Neverland jungle.

___

Killians night is uneventful. Or as uneventful as a night helping lost kids in Neverland. The tug was still there, but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was for. There were no new lost kids or any that he had related to or help.

In his first days of Neverland, Killian would try to help as many kids as he could. But it went south, and now he doesn’t dare to interfere with fate anymore.

  
  


There was one boy who was about 10, and he reminded him of Liam. His name was Eli and he visited Neverland in his dreams as he was lost, it was just him and his little brother and they had a pretty crappy home life. He lived in the Enchanted Forest so Killain tried to help him as much as he could by telling him to seek refuge in a kingdom nearby that Killian knew well. He visited Neverland for a few weeks and then Killian didn’t see him again, so he assumed he must have found help.

Then his little brother Hugo showed up in Neverland soon after. His little brother was now a lost boy because his older brother was killed when they went looking for refuge. 

Killian couldn't do this again. Neverland was bad luck. He had lost everyone he loved and Neverland only reminded him of it. He was reminded of Liam so much, he would see the damned plant that took his life and blame himself for pushing him. He had ruined this lad's life by pushing his brother to search for a better life. He thought he was doing a good thing. 

  
  


He gave up trying to save these kids, and just let them enjoy their time with Nevelands magic. He did not want to be responsible for ruining anyone else’s life. He would live here until Emma finds him, if she ever does. Neverland was the place of nightmares, not dreams, and Killian was living in a constant one.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~

Seeing Henry the previous night was scary as she didn’t know he was there, but now planning to see it was worse. Would she apologise for yelling at him about playing video games, would she cry as he hasn’t seen her for 28 years. Would he completely hate her and want to stay in Neverland.

“Mom?” Henry calls out in a hushed tone.

Emma looks over at her brother to lower the protection spell cast on their camp, letting Henry see his family. 

“Mom. Grandma, Grandpa.” Henry says, still unsure if it's really them.

“Kid.” Emma says fighting back tears.

David and Snow approach their grandson slowly. “Henry!” 

“Is-Is it really is you?” Henry says taking in the sight of them. “Wait. I need to know for sure. If it’s really you, when was the last time you saw me? Not including last night.” Henry always was the bright one, he’d dealt with many tricks over the years to believe it was his mother straight away.

  
  


“It was at our house, it was family dinner night, me you and Killian. Except you were playing video games instead of doing your homework and you ate dinner in your room because you’re stubborn like me, and the rest of your family.” 

  
  


Henry’s face lights up, “Mom!” He looks over at his grandparents, who are slightly older than he last remembered.

  
  


He embraces his grandparents, before he looks over to Neal, slightly confused about who he is. 

  
  


Neal walks over, “I guess that makes me you’re uncle, but I have a feeling you only knew me as a baby.”

  
  


Emma starts to snigger at this, the whole situation is insane.

“What the hell are you laughing at?” Neal asks his sister, 

  
  


“I am not laughing.” She lies, still laughing. “This situation is so crazy, Henry, this is your uncle Neal. I know it’s crazy, he was a baby when you met him. Now he’s my annoying younger brother.”

  
  


“Oh I’m annoying? What about the time you-“ Neal begins before David cuts him off.

  
  


“Okay will you leave your drama for another time?” 

  
  


The siblings roll their eyes.

  
  


“I know this is insane, but I’m here now and it’s time to go home.” Emma says, giving her son a warm smile.

  
  


Henry looks uneasy, “I wish it were that easy.”

  
  


“W-What do you mean?” Emma asks, now worried about what this meant.

  
  


“Have you seen Killian since you got here?” Henry asks, not answering Emma’s question.

  
  


“Yes-but what-” Before she can finish her question, Henry cuts her off.

  
  


“Let me guess, he saw you and claimed it was some trick Neverland was playing on him?” He says, raising his eyebrows.

  
  


Emma looks over to her family and then back at her son, “Y-Yeah. That’s exactly what happened. Ho-um-How do you know? What’s happening here?”

  
  


Henry sighs, “It’s a long and complicated story. When we first got here, Killian and I were happy to have a place where we could stay until you broke your curse. But then as the years went on, he got worse. He has been through a lot of harsh stuff in his life, losing his brother, his first love, living as a Pirate, then Neverland and obviously becoming the Dark One and dying. Then when he was finally happy, you got turned into a toddler. He feels like he’s been punished or something and this is his curse.” 

  
  


Emma was hit by a ton of bricks. How had she been so foolish? Killian’s life was just as bad as hers, being sold by his father with only his brother who died by the hands of a corrupt king. Like Emma, his life with his first love was cut short and he lived in solitude for 300 years before they met and both their lives changed for the better. Emma laughs at how she hated him when they first met, she wishes she could go back, relive the moment they first met and trust him. But then fate works in funny ways.

Fighting back the tears she so badly wants to shed, she simply asks, “How do I get him to leave? What do I do?”

  
  


Whilst Emma didn’t know exactly what he was going through, she had an idea. When she couldn’t save Killain from the Underworld and she lost him, it was the worst day of her life. She was so confident that she would be able to save him and bring him back, but when they had to say goodbye it didn’t hit her until they were back in Storybrooke without him. She hadn’t thought much of her future, but the future she did imagine was with Killian, and she had no idea how she was going to go on without him by her side. That must be how he was feeling, not knowing what the future will look like. After years of darkness and dying as The Dark One, he was broken and when they were finally at a happy point in their lives, she was ripped away from him. She knew this was a place of nightmares and demons, and not exactly a place of hope. Of course he was going insane.

  
  


“I don’t know Mom. You two have a pretty powerful love, it’s why Killian was brought back. You just gotta figure it out for yourself.” Henry wishes he had more answers, but he only wrote the stories he had no power to create them, but he knew their Happy Ending would happen.

  
  


“I should go, I don’t want to be caught here, the fairies that control the magic here aren’t too fond of visitors. But I’ll come back as soon as I can.” Henry tells them, giving his family a hug.

  
  


He starts to walk away, but then remembers the question he’s been dreading to ask. “Before I go. Is it true? Is my mom-Is Regina...gone?”

  
  


Emma looks over at her mother for support. “I’m so sorry Henry.”

  
  


Tears began to roll down Henry’s cheeks, “I had a vision. Not too long after we got here. I saw her, she told me she loved me and that she would see me again one day. I just didn’t know whether to believe it or not.”

  
  


Snow crouches to console her grandson, “Henry. She saved us. She sacrificed herself to finally kill the Evil Queen. Storybrooke is safe again thanks to her, she did it for you. She didn’t want you to come back to a town that was still fighting a new villain every week. She loved you so much Henry you have no idea.”

  
  


Not wanting to cry around them, he mumbles something about needing to see something and runs off into the woods.

  
  


“Well he doesn't hate you Emma.” David tells her, trying to think of something positive that could be said about the situation.

  
  


“Yeah but now i have no idea how i’m going to make Killain trust me so that we can all go home.” Emma says half laughing half wanting to cry.

____

Emma retreats to a little tree alcove in the midst of a few trees by their camp. 

Why did she think it would be simple. It was Gold of course who led them to Neverland in the first place, and he has never been honest about his intentions. 

At least Henry recognised her. It was actually a miracle he had survived so well here, his first visit to Neverland wasn’t exactly positive, being tricked into giving over his heart to save magic, and then being stuck in Pandora’s box when Pan body switched the two.

She was trying to be positive, Zeus brought back Killain for a reason, surely she would find a way to save him from this hell.

  
  


Hearing someone step on a twig, she looks up to see her brother.

  
  


“Sorry. I know you probably want to be alone.” He says.

  
  


Emma gives her brother a smile. “No it’s fine.”

  
  


He comes over to where she’s sitting and crouches down beside her.

  
  


“I’m sorry. It’s just, not as easy as I thought this would be.” Emma says, wiping her tears away. 

  
  


“I get it, just the other day you were planning your birthday with Alex, and now you’re here searching for the son you forgot you had.” Neal replies, trying to lighten the situation.

Emma looks over at Neal, “You know you remind me of him. Henry.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you’re both so annoyingly positive.” Emma says letting out a laugh.

Neal smiles at this, wanting to know more about the nephew he didn’t know he had. “Tell me more about him.”

“Well, i was only 17 when he was born, so he did not have the best start in life, he was adopted pretty quickly-” She begins before Neal cuts her off.

“I don’t mean his life story. I want to know what he’s like. What kind of things he’s into, what he hates.”

This warms Emma’s heart. “Well for starters he hates math.” 

Neal laughs, “Well I like him already!”

She knew what he was doing, trying to take her mind off the situation at hand. “Henry has a big heart, he will let you in and then good luck trying to get away. He loves writing, he’s the author so he has a real flair for it, he’s probably going to go to College in the real world and study Creative Writing.”

They talk for what feels like hours, she loves Henry and she missed him. Telling her brother all about the nephew he didn’t know he had was the best feeling, she was so proud of him. 

She knew she would find a way to bring the two men back, whatever it took

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thank you to everyone who reads this and has left kudos it means the world to me!! Please if you liked it let me know in the comments or on tumblr at killiansprincss


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has left kudos it means the world that people are reading this story that is close to my heart! I hope you enjoy this chapter, the drama in Neverland slowly unfolds and you’ll also be seeing different POVs too :))
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr at killiansprincss for more Captain Swan related posts and opinions, or if you want to hear more about this story :)))
> 
> Also Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays I hope everyone has a wonderful time!

Cecelia had lived in Neverland a lot longer than that Pan boy. So when she and her sisters were banished to the Enchanted Forest, those were the worst hundred years of her life. The Blue Fairy insisted on calling them by their colours rather than their names, so Cecelia was ‘purple’, which made her want to cast a dark spell on Blue more than a few times.

  
  


“Late again Purple.”

  
  


“No messing with the humans Purple.”

  
  


“Light magic only, Purple you know that.”

  
  


It was her high pitched voice that drove her insane, thinking that just because she was the oldest fairy in the Enchanted Forest she was better than they were. Well she was a Neverland fairy, she did not have to follow her rules.

  
  


Cecelia wasn’t the only fairy Blue disliked. Of course she hated all her Neverland sisters, but there was one fairy who was born in the Enchanted Forest. Tinkerbell. Or “Green” as Blue so annoyingly referred to her as.

  
  


“But I don’t understand why we can’t just help the humans we want.” Tinkerbell would argue with the Blue Fairy.

  
  


“Oh Green. I wish we could, but it’s fairy law. We aren’t able to help who we wish, only those of pure heart.”

  
  


Bullshit. There was no “Fairy Law”, fairies had their own free will. If Tinkerbell wanted to help that young Queen who wasn’t in love with her husband, why shouldn’t she. Arranged marriages between royals were bullshit anyways. 

  
  
  


Sooner or later the little green fairy would majorly piss off the supreme Blue Fairy and banish her and Cecelia would take her under her wing and set a course for Neverland once more.

__

A mere few days later and Cecelia’s plan was falling into action. Poor Tinkerbell was exiled by the Blue Fairy for meddling in a human's life. She knew Blue was way too hard on her, so she told a human who their soulmate was, big deal. She didn’t curse anyone or use dark magic. If Tink was exiled for something so small, Cecelia was next.

  
  


“Tink. I have a proposition for you.” And so she told her all about how she was banished from her home, and Tinkerbell could have a home among fairies that understood her, where the Blue Fairy couldn’t control her

  
  


“So this Neverland, isn’t it ruled by a corrupt king?” Tink asks.

  
  


“Pan? Oh no, he is not a king. He’s a man who abandoned his child in exchange for eternal youth.” She says thinking about her hatred for Pan. “He doesn’t have the power he thinks he does, our magic is far more powerful than he is.”

  
  


Tink smiles, “And there’s nobody like the Blue Fairy that will control us?”

  
  


Cecelia smirks, “The Blue Fairy controls this land, Neverland will be ours.”

  
  


And so Tinkerbell travels with the other Neverland Fairies, 2nd star to the right and straight on to morning. Without her wings, she held tight to Cecelia, under the impression that her wings would be restored once they reached the Island.

  
  


Of course, this was a lie, she just needed an excuse to go back home, and Tink would be a healthy distraction, a new fairy running around for Pan to play with. Tink resented her for this for years, especially as she was on the run from Pan whilst Cecelia and the other fairies she escaped with were able to fly to their fairy home which Pan was forbidden to enter (plus he couldn’t fly or make himself small). But it didn’t matter, Cecelia was home. 

  
  
  


Cecelia didn’t know how Pan fell. It was only 50 years after her return to the Island, but all she knew was Tink told Pan of the Native Neverland fairies whereabouts and he made sure they were not able to get out. All she knows is the boy Pan was looking for played a hand in his defeat. She had seen the boy in the pictures that Pan had years before. With Pan gone and the magic of the Island gone, Cecelia and her sisters whilst were free from their entrapment were powerless and as good as dead.

  
  


But the boy returned. He was much older, but it was him. He was the boy from Pan's prophecy. And he was with Captain Hook, the one handed Pirate. The pirate that many of the fairies had been involved with once upon a time.

  
  


They were alone. Just the two of them. Hook, she was not surprised to see him, he had been in Neverland for 300 years, he clearly got tired of human life and wanted to return to eternal youth. She would have to keep an eye on him, make sure he stays around.

________________

  
  


“Good Evening Captain.” Cecelia says flirtatiously when she sees Hook in the Lost Ones clearing.

  
  


“Cecelia.” Hook replies.

  
  


“You seem different today Captain.” She notices how he seems distanced, maybe it’s too much rum.

  
  


“Just Neverland playing tricks on my mind, it’s nothing. How many lost ones are expected tonight?” He asks, quickly changing the subject.

  
  


Cecilia notices this, but doesn’t say anything. “About the same as last night, possibly 

more.”

  
  


Just as he begins to leave, Cecelia grabs his hand, his only hand, “Are you sure you’re okay Captain? I can help you to relieve the trauma of this place for a few hours if you wish.” She tells him seductively.

  
  


In the past he would’ve accepted Cecelia’s offer, but not this night. “Thank you Cecelia. But not tonight.”

  
  


And so Hook leaves the fairy alone in the clearing wondering what was going on.

  
  


Cecelia was hurt and embarrassed, in the 25 years Hook had been here he was wrapped around her finger, he could get her to do whatever she wanted. While he hadn’t taken her to bed since he’d been here, she still used her enchantment on him.

  
  


Cecelia turns back into fairy size and flies away to her home.

  
  


Pixie Hollow was the home to fairies for thousands of years, long before Pan. It was ruled by a King and Queen who shared True Love so strong, the pixie dust was always flowing around the Island. 

When it became an island lost children visited in their dreams, the fairies became scared and fled the Island. Eventually the King and Queen fled too and that’s when the Pixie dust slowly became scarce. When there were very few fairies left, Pan was able to control the Island. 

—————

Cecelia flies to where the former Pixie Dust tree was. Nowdays it doesn’t cover the entire tree, but more a small crater of dust at the centre of the once grand tree. 

  
  


She was going to find out what was going on inside her pirates head.

  
  


She gathers a small handful of dust and whispers, 

“ _Show me Captain Hook’s day_ ” 

  
  


And she throws the dust in the air and forms a golden circle showing Hooks memories that day.

  
  


She sees Hook in his house on the Island. He sleeps, eats and does nothing else. 

  
  


But then...

  
  


Cecelia sees him walking over to the Lost Ones clearing, but taking a detour. And then a blonde woman comes into shot. She isn’t able to hear what they’re saying, but if she had to guess, it looked like this woman was trying to get him to go home with her.

  
  


If she had to take a guess, this woman was Hook's supposed ‘true love’. Emily, or something, she never paid attention to the woman. She was cursed, and one day she would return, it seemed today was that day.

  
  


Not if Cecelia had anything to do with it.

_____________

  
  


Talking to her brother about Henry had made Emma feel a lot better about this situation. 

  
  


Last time they were in Neverland was very different, she was naïve and didn’t have great control of her magic, she didn’t know the Island. This time was different, as far as she knew neither Henry nor Killian were in any immediate danger, Pan was gone and it was fairies that controlled the Island. Although her years of training with the Blue fairy had taught her not all fairies were good or trustworthy, especially those in Neverland.

  
  


She understood her magic now. She had years of training, she could feel magic and feel what was light magic and what was dark, and Neverland was mainly dark. Having faced darkness in her previous life, she was somewhat confident she could take it on. 

  
  


Hope. That’s what they needed right now. 

  
  


Hope had always got them through the dire situations. And Hope would get them out of this one too. 

  
  


She just needed a plan.

  
  


“Why don’t we just keep exploring the Island?” Snow suggests. Emma was devising a plan on how to get Henry and Killian to cooperate, or listen.

  
  


“No, it’s too risky all of us exploring. We still don’t know if the fairies on this Island are evil.” Emma replies, still trying to think of the best way to do this.

  
  


“Well why don’t I explore?” Neal proposes, “Say the fairies are evil, they’re more likely to want to trap you. I can explore and find out what’s going on, and if need be I can flirt my way out of it.”

  
  


Emma rolls her eyes. Her little brother was such a flirt, a real ladies man. She’s shocked he actually had a girlfriend. But then again Thalia was very different to a lot of the girls Neal flirted with growing up. And when she met her brother, they brought out the best in one another.

  
  
  


“Aside from flirting with fairies which I imagine you will so enjoy,” Emma mocks, rolling her eyes, “that’s not a bad idea. If you can scout out the Island, figure out where Henry and Killian are and then you can report back to me through our link.” 

  
  


The siblings shared a magic link in their mind. It wasn’t like mind reading, although most of the time Emma felt she could read her brother's mind (but that was more to do with him being predictable), they were able to communicate. As the two products of true love they were bonded and could easily communicate from miles apart, which was perfect if one were to be trapped or abducted.

  
  


Noticing the worried look on his wife’s face, David adds, “Neal will be fine. Worst case scenario you can magically poof yourself back here, back under the protection spell.” 

  
  


“I got this mom, don’t worry.” Neal smiles at his mother, trying to convince her it’s the best plan, when in reality he is shit scared. 

  
  


“Good Luck baby bro.” Emma says, throwing Neal his sword. 

  
  


~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~

“VERENA!” Cecelia screams as she flies over to where her sister was attempting to make water rise from the stream. 

  
  


Verena looked nothing like her sister. She had a honey skin tone and long black hair in a sleek ponytail. They were not sisters in a biological sense, but they were born at the same time and worked together and banished by Pan together. They had been through it all, and she was all Cecelia had.

  
  


“Oh good you’re here. I fear our time back here may be running out, look.” Verena reaches out her hand to the stream and flicks it up from the water creating a small ball. But it doesn’t quite keep its form and splashes back into the stream. 

  
  
  


“Yeah the magic in this place is running out, we need more of Henry’s blood.” Cecelia says so matter of factly.

  
  


Verena gets up from the ground and looks at her sister, “No. You know we can’t do that. That boy has given us 25 years of magic on this Island that was dead thanks to Pan. I don’t think you remember what it did to the poor boy. If the magic is running out, we need to leave while we still can.” 

  
  
  


When Gold had told Henry and Killian that Henry’s blood would restore the youthfulness of Neverland, they assumed just a drop or two. But when he cut his hand to let a few droplets into the magic stream it took a lot more than a few droplets. Henry was almost drained, Killian feared what would’ve happened if he hadn't been there. 

  
  
  


Cecelia rolls her eyes, “Please. The boy has the heart of the truest believer and he’s the author. He has so much power but he’s being weak. He could easily write down that Neverland has magic again.”

  
  
  


“Cecelia you know magic doesn’t work like that.” 

  
  


Before Verena can fly away, she suddenly realises. “It’s been 25 years, the boy's mother is here to collect him. Hooks true love. You’re trying to keep her away from them so you can have Hook for all eternity.”

  
  


When Cecelia says nothing, her sister takes that as a yes. “Whatever it is you’re planning, I want nothing to do with it.” 

  
  


When the magic in Neverland runs out, Cecelia and Verena’s wings will be rendered useless as they need pixie dust to fly. They either need to fly away from the Island while they still can, or be flightless and possibly suffer a much worse fate.

  
  


_________

Neal Nolan was a smart guy. He was an English teacher at Storybrooke High, and he was highly skilled at his magic.

  
  


He was also a Charming, so people always liked him because of who his family was. His family practically ran storybrooke, his mother was a fifth grade teacher, his dad was the sheriff until he retired and his sister was deputy until their dad retired and then she became sheriff. They had good ties to the mayor, and it also helped that his girlfriend Thalia wanted to run for mayor too. 

  
  
  


Thalia didn’t always like him though. The Charming family still had a lot of rivals in Storybrooke, but they didn’t speak up or try to overthrow them. Thalia's father was one of those people, as a former knight for King George, her father still had a hatred for them, so Thalia grew up thinking they were evil. All throughout school she and Neal were academic rivals, but as she went through high school, she realised maybe mini charming wasn’t so bad. Not that she would admit that until well after they graduated. 

  
  


Now, here in Neverland, he was unknown. He was able to use this to his advantage. He was a nobody. And that was a first. He could easily fool these fairies into believing he was anyone he wanted to be. 

  
  


A few seconds later though, he feels cold silver on his neck, and he finds himself struggling to breath. It’s sharp and cool like the blade of a sword, expect he thinks it feels more like...

  
A Hook.

  
  


The Hook tugs on his neck and forces him to turn around to face whoever the Hook belongs to. That is when he realises the Hook is a replacement for a hand. 

  
  


Wait, was this, Emma’s boyfriend?

  
  


“Well what do we have here?” His accent definitely sounded like he was a pirate. And he was pretty sure it was Emma’s Hook. He was dressed in all black leather and his hair was messy. His blue eyes seemed dead inside. Neal hadn’t seen anyone look so sad before.

  
  


“My name is Neal. Neal Nolan.” He offers, hoping he will understand who he is.

  
  


“How did you get to this Island?” Hook asks, then looks at his modern clothes, “Are you from. There?”

  
  


Neal assumes by “there”, he means Storybrooke. “I live in Storybrooke. My sister is Emma. She’s come to save you.” 

  
  


Hook suddenly looks uncomfortable. “Follow me if you want to live.”  
  


Neal doesn’t exactly have a choice, so he follows the pirate into what seems to be his home on the Island. It’s a hut with stairs leading up to a bed. It doesn’t exactly look comfortable, or homey.

  
  


He also considers linking with Emma, to tell her what was going on, but quickly decides against it. He wants to talk to him, and get him to trust him.

  
  


Hook looks at Neal, almost as if he’s examining him. Neal considers himself to be pretty identical to his parents, blonde hair and green eyes. His mother’s features dominate most of his face, but his nose is his fathers. He would say he looked like Emma too, seeing as they both got their father's hair and mothers eyes.

  
  


“Rum?” Hook asks as they enter his makeshift home.

  
  


Neal shakes his head, “I’m okay.” 

  
  


“Talk boy. If you are really who you say you are.” Hook gestures for the Charming boy to sit.

  
  


He takes a deep breath, hoping he can convince his sister's boyfriend not to kill him. “My name is Neal Leopold Nolan. I was born in Storybrooke. My parents are Snow White and Prince Charming, I along with my sister am the product of true love. My entire life I believed my older sister Emma was only a year older than I was. It was only on her 28th birthday, I was told the truth. That she was born right before the Evil Queen cast her dark curse and sent to the real world. And I’m not sure on the details, but a few years later the same Evil Queen turned her into a toddler and that’s how she’s grown up with me as my older sister. Now we’re here because her son Henry, and you ran away here to wait for her until she breaks her curse. Now it’s broken and we came with her to come get you both.”

  
  


Hook stands there, taking it all in. He takes a few more sips of Rum before he says, “You. You were a baby. Zelena, she stole you when you were born for her time portal. The portal Emma and I fell into. It’s where she fell in love with me, not that she would ever admit that.” He smirks.

  
  


Neal smiles, that sounded like Emma, not admitting what was so clearly the truth. 

  
  


“I guess I am that baby.” Neal replies shocked to now know he almost got sacrificed by Robin's mother. He had to get the full story on this. 

  
  


Hook takes another look at the grown up baby he once knew. “Your parents entrusted Emma and I to babysit you a number of times. They said it was so they could have a night off, but I knew it was because they wanted us to practise for when it was our time. Emma of course had no idea, she never liked to think much about the future, too afraid it wouldn’t come true.”

  
  


Now that was something that did not sound like Emma. She always had a plan, she would graduate high school and work for dad until he retired and become full time sheriff. He knew her love life wasn’t the best, but their parents had always told her that her soulmate was out there. Now he realises, they knew exactly who was out there for Emma. 

  
  


“I can take you to her. If you like.” Neal offers, not sure what to say.

  
  


His tone suddenly changes from reminiscent to cold and raw.”No. No. I can’t. She can’t. It’s too dangerous.”

  
  


“She has magic, she can just poof herself inside your home here.” He offers again, not trying to sound too forceful.

  
  


Hook starts pacing around his home, mumbling to himself. “No. No. I can’t. She won’t. It’s best if she stays away. I caused too much hurt. Too much. Far too much. She-stay away.”

  
  


Before Neal can say or do anything, they hear a female voice.

  
  


“Oh Captain!” 

  
  


“Cecelia.” Hook curses. He looks over at Neal. “You need to leave now. You have magic?”

  
  


Neal nods.

  
  


“Use it. Get away. She can’t see you.” Hook gets up to the window trying to see how far Cecelia is.

  
  


“I’ll get Emma. Well be back. She’s okay.” Neal says before a poof of light blue magic magic makes him disappear from the scene just before Cecelia arrives at Hook’s door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!! Btw I don’t know how to get rid of the end note under this so pls ignore it


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, thank you to anyone who has read left kudos or commented it makes my day seeing that someone likes this fic it holds a special place in my heart. My goal for 2021 is to write more, and that includes this fic so the chapters shall be delving deeper into our beloved characters, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also possible trigger warning, as the next few chapters will talk about ptsd and depression just so you’re aware.

Henry Mills was not a fan of Neverland. 

The first time he arrived here, he was kidnapped by his evil great grandfather's minions and then manipulated by that great grandfather.

Now he was here with his almost step father waiting for his mother to break a curse that made her a toddler.

Henry had tried keeping track of the days, but he gave up after probably 8 years. The days all blend into one, and 25 years was a long time to wait. Time moves differently in Neverland, one day can feel like 2 hours and another day can feel like 5 months. You had to keep focused, Neverland would play mind tricks on you, and make you see and believe things that weren’t actually happening.

This was exactly why seeing his mother was so hard to believe. 

For years he had been seeing her, many different versions of her. He saw the version he knew and loved, he had seen a teenage Emma, the same age as he was which was very strange. He had even seen a much older version of her, in which she never broke her curse and completely forgot about him.

Seeing her, when he had no idea she was coming and was on his way to help the lost kids of the island like every other night, it was a shock. “Emma” normally would say things like Henry we’re going home’, or ‘I’m here to save you’. She didn’t normally say things she knew about him, the tricks Neverland played on you didn’t know he liked cinnamon on his hot cocoa or about Operation Cobra. But he couldn’t be too sure. That's why he chose a riddle to see if it were really his mother. He really wanted it to be.

Seeing Killian that night and not saying anything was hard. He so badly wanted to say that Emma was here and they were going home, but if it wasn’t really her then getting his hopes up only to let him down would make him sink into a depressive state. 

Killian was in a really bad place. Henry was having a hard time, but he always had hope. Killian on the other hand, was hopeless. Henry knew he had spent over 300 years in this place, and while another 25 years did not seem as long, Neverland played so many tricks on your mind that 25 years could feel like 300 years and 300 years can seem like an eternity. 

Killian spent a lot of his time between the Jolly Roger and his Island home. At first, Henry would always be welcome on the ship-they were in this situation together and the least Killian could do was teach him how to sail like he did his father, and tell him things about his father that he wanted to know.

  
  


The way Henry would keep himself sane was using the author's pen. Every day he would write something, or the pen would write something. And Henry knew though that his time on the Island was almost up that night after he saw his mother when he was writing with his authors pen and he wrote,

_The Charming Family, Snow White Prince Charming and their two Children, Emma and Neal arrive on the Island of Neverland upon their daughter breaking her curse. They come to Nevelrand to search for the loves she lost during her curse._

The pen never lied. His mom was really here. His family.

Now he had to figure out how to save Killian from anymore fairy manipulation.

And he could go home.

  
  


__________

“Cecelia, what a charming surprise.” Killian comments as he successfully saw Neal leave in a puff of smoke.

The fairy smiles and tucks her violet wings in, “Hook. I wanted to see how you were doing! You seemed off before, I hope everything is okay now.”

Cecelia knew very well that his long lost love had now returned to the Island, in hope to get him back. Not if she had anything to do with it. But Cecelia didn’t know that Hook already knew Emma was back for him.

Seeing he youngest Charming had confirmed that the Emma he had seen before was in fact his Emma. It really had been 25 years. She was here to collect Henry and himself and go back. To Storybrooke. 

But did he deserve to go back? 

It had been 25 years. The 25 years had been good to Emma, she had grown up in the family that she deserved. She was no longer a lost girl. She deserved better than the man Neverland had made him.

And even if she still wanted him, would Cecelia let him. Or would she kill Emma to make sure he stayed on the Island?

“Ah nothing to worry about Cece.” He kept her sweet by using the nickname to keep her distracted. “I was just thinking about a poor lost boy I met previous nights ago, sad story that's all.”

Cecelia smiled, she wanted to believe him. But she knew he was thinking about his lover. “Neverland playing tricks on you again?”

“Something like that.” Killian nods, “If you don’t mind I was going to head to my ship. I haven’t slept well and the sound of waves calm me.

The fairy saw an opportunity, “I could join you. We can have some fun. That always used to calm you down.” And flirtatiously caresses his hook.

Killian is suddenly taken aback. He recalls the times Emma would do the same to his hook. And his thoughts travelled back to her. He wanted to see her, he wanted to take Neal up on his offer but he couldn’t. It was too dangerous.

“CeCe as much as I would love that. I really need sleep. But another time perhaps. After all this is Neverland”

Killian hated to admit that he had spent nights with the fairy during his time in Neverland. Both in the reign of Pan and now. He hated himself for it, but there was something about the damn fairy that as much as he wanted to say no he couldn’t. And now the thought of Emma being back for good, he was sick at the thought of doing anything with the fairy. But he had to keep good terms with her, if he broke things off immediately she would know something was wrong. 

Cecelia looked hurt and angry, but agreed and went out the door and flew away. 

He needed to figure out how to keep Cecelia sweet whilst also seeing if Emma would want him back after seeing what these years in Neverland had done to him.

He needed to find Henry.

_____

Neal reappeared in the camp within seconds after his first encounter with Hook.

Emma is the first to question what he got up to.

“Well what happened? What did you see?” She asks her brother.

He looks over at his sister, “I met your boyfriend,”

Emma practically falls to the ground. “What? What happened? What did he say? What did you do?” 

Neal studies his sister for a moment before saying. “I don’t get it. He’s so cool, way cooler than any guy you’ve dated before. How does he like you?”

Emma rolls her eyes and shoots a tiny fireball at her brother's feet. 

“Ow!”

“Oops,” Emma smirks. “Now tell us what happened.”

Neal rolls his eyes as he steps away from where he nearly got burned. “I’m serious though, he’s so cool he’s a pirate with a hook for a hand! Like how did dad ever approve of him?” 

Emma smiles softly as she recalls the not so easy journey her father and Killian had. “Believe me, he didn’t, he almost got punched a few times. But dad grew to love him as much as I did.”

“He acts all tough but he’s a big softie.” David offers. “Now back to what he said and what happened.”

“Nothing really. I was walking around the jungle looking for something to happen. Then Hook comes and interrogates me. He took me back to his home on the Island to see if I really was Neal, son of Snow and Charming, and sister to Emma. He was telling me stories about how you two fell in love when you went back in time. OH and he told me I was almost sacrificed by my best friend's mother to create a time portal-I’m gonna need more information on that later!” 

“We were going to tell you eventually. Once Emma broke her curse.” Snow offers, hoping her son will believe the lie.

“So then he starts recalling stories about how the two of you babysat me and mom and dad said it was practise when you two had a baby of your own.”

Emma cuts her brother off before he can continue, “I’m sorry, for when we had a baby of our own?” She asks directed at her parents, “you said you got us because you didn’t have to pay us!”

“We had good intentions!” Snow objects, “we just thought, you were on that track. And well,” Snow can’t quite seem to finish what she was saying, all she wanted was for Emma to finally find happiness, and she had no idea Captain Hook would be the one to give that to her. Killian really became part of the family after showing how much he cares for Emma, and snow eventually welcomed him with open arms. 

“Anyway, back to the story,” Neal interrupts. “So he’s telling me all these stories, and he’s pretty drunk by the way, is that normal? I said that I could bring you to him, or take him to us, but he kept saying it was too dangerous. And then a girl named Cecelia started calling his name and he was rushing me to leave, saying she couldn’t know I was here.”

“Cecelia, that’s the name he kept saying when I saw him. He said something about it being one of Cecelia tricks.” Emma says connecting the dots, trying to figure out what was going on with Killian.

“What is she? A demon? A human?” David asks his son.

Neal shrugs, “I’m not sure, he didn’t say and I didn’t see her. But she clearly runs this Island.” 

Emma grabs her sword from behind her back and stands up, “I’m going after him, I need to see him. And I don’t care who this Cecelia is, I can take her.” 

Neal grabs his sister before she can go anywhere, “I wouldn’t if I were you. I don’t know much about your boyfriend but he seemed scared of this Cecelia and I’m guessing that doesn’t happen much. We still don’t know what of who she is. If you go there and you’ll ruin everything you’ve worked for.” 

“He’s right Emma. We need to keep a close eye on him. We need to seek out Henry, find out what he knows and what we can do to stop her.” David says, and she knows he’s right.

“Okay fine.” She says setting her blade down, “I won’t do anything. I need to find Henry though, anyone got an idea on how to do that?”

David and Snow look lost in thought whilst Neal looks like he’s onto something. “Okay here me out, remember during our training, Blue would get us to communicate with each other by our minds. Do you think you could do that with your son?”

  
  


“But Henry isn’t magical. Doesn’t it work only when 2 people have magic?” Emma asks, even though right now it is the best option they have.

Neal shrugs, “I don’t know, I’ve only tried it with you,but isn’t blood magic strong? Because he’s your blood it could work.”

Emma silently swore, she hated when her brother was right. “Okay. I’ll try,”

Emma sits down on the ground and closes her eyes. She invisions Henry in her mind, she invisions when he first arrived at her door in Boston all those years ago, after 28 years of being alone, with Henry she finally found her home. Slowly and bit by bit, Stoyrbrooke gave her a home and the family she craved.

**_HENRY! HENRY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?_ **

Emma called out in her mind.

**_Henry, it’s me, it’s your mom. Are you there?_ **

**_Mom? Is that you?_ **Henry replies in Emma’s mind. Yes she did it!

**_It’s me kid! I need to see you, I’m not sure how long I can keep this connection going and I need answers._ **

**_I’ll try and answer as much as i can. Are you able to come now? It’s easier to hide and escape during the daytime._ **

**_Sure kid, where are you?_ **

**_A tree house near where Pan’s camp used to be, the northern part of the Island._ **

**_Hang tight Kid, I’ll be there soon._ **

Emma practically leaps off the ground. “I connected to him! It worked. I mean I actually spoke to him! Neal you’re a genius! Okay, Mom and Dad hold tight to Neal and I are going to take us to Henry.”

Neal looks at his sister. “We are?”

Emma nods, “Trust me. Connect to me and I’ll tell us where we need to go.”

Neal takes his mother’s hand while Emma takes their fathers, and puts blind faith in his sister as he connects to her mind. 

And then all of a sudden they’re travelling round the Island and land outside by a bunch of trees. There’s one that has a ladder and a hut attached to it, Neal assumes this is where his nephew lives.

Emma begins to walk up the ladder, knocking on the hatch and whispers ‘Henry’

“Mom!” The 15 year old teenager opens the hatch. He’s skinny, a lot skinnier than when he was in Storybrooke and Emma immediately feels guilty. She didn’t take much of a look at him the last time she saw him she was just so excited to see him. But now seeing him in his home on the Island, with baggy clothes and a look of malnourishment.

His home was a tree house similar to the place Tinkerbell lived during Pan’s reign. It was pretty dark, just a hamper of clothes and a bag of food filled with nuts and berries. The walls were covered with pages of writing. I suppose that was one way of knowing what was happening. It made her feel terrible, Henry was always so loved. He shouldn’t have to live like this, in a tree house. Emma grew up not knowing how loved she was, she knew all about a makeshift home. Henry was always so loved and he always knew that, it must’ve broken his heart seeing her turn into a toddler. 

“Henry! I’m so glad you’re okay!” She cries bending down to hug him. Tears roll down Henry’s eyes too.

Henry was so worried about being caught the last time he saw his family, but the fairies knew not to intrude Henry’s personal home. He also had more of a chance to tell his family what exactly the dangers of Neverland are, and how to escape. 

“Gramps!” Henry’s face brightens up when he see’s his grandparents, they’re really here. “Gramps, you look so old.”

David slightly offended just laughs, “It’s good to see you Henry. We have missed you so much.” 

“Mom how did you communicate like that with me? I didn’t know you could do that.” Henry asks.

“Growing up in Storybrooke was a lot different than how you grew up there. I was taught magic by the Blue Fairy and I’m confident in using it now. It’s all light Henry too, no need to worry about me going dark again.”

“What about your other life have you not told me? You went dark?” Neal interrupts his sister, curious to know what actually went on when he was a baby.

Snow gives her son a look that says “not the time.”

“Henry I came here for answers. I was naive to think getting you and Killian would be easy. But I need to know what I’m up against and how we can stop it.” Emma tells her son, everything the last few days has been so confusing and uncertain, but the one thing she was certain about was that she wanted her son and her love back.

Henry sighs, “Neverland has been dangerous, I’ve been lucky to stay out of the way. Hook hasn’t been as lucky though. What do you need to know?”

Emma has a million and one questions, but what she wants to know most is, “Who the hell is Cecelia for one? It’s all I hear Killian saying.” 

Henry takes a deep breath, “Cecelia is a fairy. She was born in Neverland thousands of years ago, long before Pan. She was exiled and returned a few hundreds years later when Hook was here. She and her sister rule the Island, they have magic stronger than the fairies in Storybrooke, they have old magic. They manipulate you and make you see things that aren’t there. She won’t let us leave, she wants my blood so the Island can make humans immortal here and she can play with them as toys. The only way we can leave is by killing her.”

Emma just sits there feeling so stupid. She was no match for a fairy, how was she going to kill her?

Not that Emma asks, but Henry continues. “As the author I’ve been able to keep my mind as my own, everyday I write things down so I know it’s real life. Hook’s mind is vulnerable though, he’s suffered so much here and he isn’t good. He’s suffering and Cecelia takes advantage of it, she’s beautiful but I think she’s part siren or something, she lures people in, Hook especially, he doesn’t want to do what she asks, but he has no choice.”

On the edge of tears Emma asks, “Killian? What? Is he really not doing well?”

Henry looks at his mother not wanting to hurt her. “He’s suffering. I don’t want to diagnose him I’m not a doctor, but I think he has ptsd.”

“As in..”

Henry nods “Post traumatic stress disorder. Think about it, he lost you when you were the Dark One and then he saved you by sacrificing himself thinking he’d never see you again. Then when we went to the Underworld and you realised Hades would never let you leave and you said goodbye for real. And then he got saved by Zeus. You two are literally soulmates and he was planning your future together when he lost you again. This time there wasn’t saving you, he would have to watch you grow up and you not know who he was. The only way around this was facing the Island he spent 300 traumatic years where he lost his brother. He’s been hurting so much without you, he’s drinking and not sleeping. He won’t even let me on the Jolly anymore.”

Emma is practically in tears now, she didn’t want to cry, she hated showing her emotions before, but now that she’d grown up loved, and wasn’t hurt the way she was in her first life, it was okay to cry.

“I’m such a horrible person. It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have gone face to face with the Evil Queen. And now Killian is suffering I-I shouldn’t”

David quickly interrupts and consoles his daughter, “Emma don’t say that. It is not your fault. Your curse was not your fault at all please do not blame yourself. None of us could have stopped her.”

The Charmings' thoughts are quickly interrupted when they hear a familiar voice from outside.

“Henry, lad, are you in here?” 

Killian.

He opens the hatch and almost falls down the ladder when he sees his company.

  
  


“Swan.”

“Killian!”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ps I don’t know how to get rid of the note below this! But thanks for reading hope you enjoyed!


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a personal favorite of mine as I can finally share the story of Neal and his girlfriend Thalia who have been so much fun to write and I hope you love them as much as I do. Again thank you to every single one of you who has read,left kudos or commented you make me happy by reading this story which I absolutely adore. 
> 
> Enjoy Chapter Ten :)

Henry Mills was sick of Neverland. He wants to go home more than anything. So when Killian said he wanted to meet him, and then Emma somehow magically contacted him, all the pieces just fell into place.

And now Killian Jones was standing just a few feet away from Emma Swan and the entire Charming family for the first time in 25 years. 

  
  


“Swan”

“Killian!”

Killian takes a look at Emma and the little brother he had met a few hours ago. 

Emma looks the same as she did before she was cursed. A little more polished and not a strong lost girl in her eyes anymore. But it was still his Emma. Then he looks to David and Snow, who look a lot more mature than he remembered them.

“David. Lady Snow. Dave, you look..” Killian begins.

  
  


“If you say old, I will cut off your other hand.” David cuts him off leaving a smile on Killians face.

  
  


“It’s good to see you.” He settles on saying, still in awe that they were all here.

  
  


“Uncle Neal, come upstairs with me, I wanna hear about the uncle I never got to know” Henry says sensing the tension between his mother and Killian, gesturing for his grandparents to follow to leave the two alone.

  
  


“Swan. It's really you?” Kilian asks, still scared it’s some cruel trick.

  
  


Emma nods, trying to stop herself from tearing up. “It’s me. I’m really here.”

  
  


“You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this day.” Emma thinks he’s going to come over and kiss her, or wrap his arms around her. But he doesn't. 

  
  


“Killian. I missed you so much.” Emma tells him, taking a few steps closer.

Killian takes a step back. “I can’t. This. I thought it would just be Henry. I didn't expect to see you here.”

Emma understands he’s hurt and confused, but that doesn’t mean seeing him back away from her hurts her any less.

“Henry told me everything. I know about the fairies and why it’s hard to leave the island. But we can figure it out together. Like we always do.” She tells him, slowly taking a step towards him. “We took down the Snow Queen together, we defeated Pan together, and we defeated our darkness together. Hell we even went back in time and made sure my parents met each other, we did all that together! And now, I’m here and we will do whatever it takes to take down that fairy bitch and go home. Have the future we always planned.” 

She takes another step towards him and takes his handed hook in hers. They were so close they could hear each other's heartbeats. 

“Killian I missed you so much.” Emma tells him, wanting nothing more than to feel the taste of his lips on hers.

“Swan. My years on this blasted Island have been the worst years of my life. But I can’t go back with you. If you take the boy, you’ll stand a chance of escaping. It’s not in my fate that I return.” Killian says despite how much it hurts.

Emma just shakes her head. “No. I can’t accept that. There is no way I am leaving this Island without you. To hell with what you think about fate, I know that is not what fate has in store for us. Zeus brought you back for a reason, okay. He would not have brought you back just so you can be in the place that makes you feel like you’re the worst person in the world.”

  
  


Killian can barely look at Emma. “You wouldn’t want me anyways. After all I’ve done. I’m not the man you deserve.”

  
  


Emma wants to laugh, “Are you being serious right now? After all we’ve been through? I made you a Dark One because I didn’t want to risk the possibility of losing you. I did lose you, twice! I came down to the Underworld to save you! And then I lost you, and that broke me. I didn’t know how I was going to survive without you, but then by a literal miracle, you came back to me! And then we were slowly planning our future together. And then I was cursed. I understand how you feel, but think about how I feel. I woke up one day with two lives in my head, not like my parents; their lives were mostly based on false memories.”

Emma takes another step towards Killian who tried to walk away. “I was having visions for years. I kept seeing this tall dark haired stranger with blue eyes. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was seeing you. I saw our moments together. I saw you because you’re my soulmate Killian my true love. If you don’t want to come back to Storybrooke with me, then that’s on you. Not me.”

“I need some air.” She says as Killian doesn't respond and goes outside.

_______________

“You doing okay kiddo?” 

  
  


Emma looks up to see her father coming down the ladder, plopping himself onto the ground beside her.

  
  


“Let me guess, you heard our argument?” She asks, slightly embarrassed.

  
  


David chuckles, “walls in Neverland aren’t exactly thick like in Storybrooke. You want to talk about it?”

  
  


“What was it like?” She asks, “when you woke up from your curse? When you realised you had 2 lives in your head.” 

  
  


“Well I can’t say I know what you’re going through seeing as I was in a coma for 28 years til you finally showed up.” He says causing them both to chuckle. “But I think I know where you’re coming from, I remember you telling Alex a few times that you were seeing your soulmate in your dreams, I assumed it was Hook you were seeing. It’s like when I was cursed, I knew I was married to Kathryn and we had a life together, but anytime I saw your mother I saw visions of her, of us, in the Enchanted Forest, and I didn’t know what I was seeing, but I knew it meant something, which is why I kept going after her. Though I remember you trying to stop me!”

  
  


“Hey don’t blame me! You sent me through the wardrobe, how was I supposed to know my 10 year old sons fantasies about you two being my parents was real!” Emma says laughing. This was exactly what her father did, he would make her laugh to forget about her problems. “But did you feel bad, at all? About the things you said and did when you were cursed, how did you manage it?”

“Ah so this is what it’s about. You feel guilty that you grew up loved with your brother, whilst Killian and Henry suffered.” David says stroking his daughters hair, the way he always did to calm her down in the past.

  
  


“Yeah that and also I don’t know how to deal with these two lives. It’s not like when me and Henry were in New York, those were all false memories. I was an orphan, I know I remember that, but then I also remember my life where you raised me and I was surrounded by love.” Emma was feeling so lost since waking up, and she didn’t exactly know what the plan now was.

  
  


“Well, I know that after we broke the curse, I went to Kathryn and she felt the same, guilt over something we couldn’t control. But with you, you were in control of your life with us, you made friends and bonds on your own, you need to realise that your friendship with Alex and Phillip, that is still real. But Henry and Killian are also real, they didn’t forget you. It’s been a traumatic 25 years for them, give it time and we can figure out a plan on how to defeat the fairies of this realm.”

  
  


“And what do I do about Killian?” She finally asks.

  
  


“Give him space. He knows how much he loves you, it’s clearly been hard on him. True Love never fails, always remember that.” He whispers, and Emma knows he’s right. Love always wins.

_____________

Henry was eager to get home to Storybrooke, but he was aware 25 years had passed since he was last there and wanted to know how it had changed, and if it was finally safe.

“Wait so you and my mom have matching scars because of a sword fight?” Henry asks his uncle, fascinated to know all about him.

Neal nods, “oh yeah, mom and dad were not happy. I accidentally cut her first and she started bleeding, so she begged me to let her cut me so we’d be matching and they’d be less likely to be angry.” 

Henry’s smile is animated, he loved hearing stories like this. “We’re they less angry?”

Neal looks to his mother. “No. I believe you were both grounded for 2 weeks, and swords were locked up. Though I believe your grandpa, Henry gave in and gave them sword fighting lessons whilst I was at work.”

Henry smiles, he remembers when his grandpa gave him lessons, and Killian too. “Awesome! Now I’ve got a cool uncle to teach me how to sword fight too!”

  
  


“What else do you want to know? I’m enjoying getting to know the nephew I had no idea I had!” Neal asks. He was similar to Henry in the way he just accepted the fact he had a nephew and was eager to learn all there was about him.

  
  


“Do you have a girlfriend?” Henry asks.

  
  


Neal does a silent chuckle, of course this is what he wanted to know. “I do. Her name is Thalia, I’ve known her since I was younger and we were rivals during High School, we hated each other, but it was after we’d graduated we realised maybe we don’t hate one another.”

  
  


“Sounds like my Mom and Killian.” Henry says looking down at them arguing. They’ll resolve whatever issue they have going on soon enough, they would never stay mad long.

  
  


“I’ll tell you about Thalia, if you tell me about Killian-he’s so cool!” Neal whispers to his nephew.

Henry grins. “Deal.

*****

_“Thalia Cameron_ , you’re late _.” Mrs. Groves, their History of the Enchanted Forest teacher, said as she saw Thalia tried to sneak in at the back of the class._

_Thalia_ sighs. _“I’m so sorry Mrs.Groves, I was working the breakfast shift at Granny’s and I lost track of time. It won’t happen again.”_

_Mrs. Groves walks over to her desk and hands her back her paper. “Maybe you should be focusing on your studies instead of your work. I expected better of you.”_

_Thalia rolls her eyes and turns her paper over. 67 out of 100. That was her worst score in a while. She wanted to do well in this class, she loved learning about where she came from and how Storybrooke was never meant to exist-but unlike most of the other kids in this class, her father didn’t have the greatest respect for Storybrooke or the Enchanted Forest._

_“Hey don’t worry about it, she’s in a bad mood today. And that quiz was so hard, I only got a 73.” Neal Nolan whispers to her._

  
  


_“Thanks Charming.” She smiles back._

  
  


_God dammit Neal Nolan. Son of the Charmings, son of the family her father hates most._

  
  


_Thalia’s father was a knight of King George, who was in charge of finding Prince James’, David, or Prince Charming as his kingdom came to call him. Thalia's father swore his allegiance to King George, and therefore hated the shepherd in disguise. Growing up she was taught to hate his family._

  
  


_She was raised by her father and never knew her mother. All she knew was that her father was married to a woman in his cursed life, and when time started to move again but their memories had not returned, her mother fell pregnant. But then the curse broke and her mother abandoned her father and went back to her real husband. Thalia was born in the Enchanted Forest and when everyone was cursed again, baby Thalia turned up on her father's doorstep and was told it was his problem._

  
  


_Thalia's father hated what this curse had given him, and so he raised Thalia but he didn’t love her. Thalia was a reminder that he was much happier cursed, at least he had someone who loved him._

  
  


_That evening Thalia was working at Granny’s again, a double shift. She wanted to work so she could save enough money and move out when she graduated High School. She loved this town, despite her father, and loved its quirks and magical mishaps._

  
  


_Although she groans when she sees the Charming Family on table 7, her section. She better get good tips._

_“Hi guys, what can I get for you?” She asks as she approaches their booth._

  
  


_She can see Neal grinning as she takes out her notepad._

  
  


_“What specials do you have?” He asks with a cocky smile._

_Thalia rolls her eyes._

_“Don’t be a dick Neal, she’s just trying to work.” Emma, his sister tells him, causing him to roll his eyes._

_She liked Emma, she was always really nice when she served her, she was so different from her brother._

_“2 cheeseburgers, 2 grilled cheese with 2 potions of onion rings and 2 portions of fries please Thalia.” David, the prince tells her. Despite what her father told her growing up, he didn’t seem all that bad._

_As she’s clearing up their table, Neal lingers. “You know I can lend you my Enchanted Forest History notes if you like.”_

_She looks perplexed. “What’s the catch Charming?”_

_Neal shrugs, “no catch. Just thought you’d need them, if you’re working here a lot and you’re getting good grades again it’ll get Mrs. Groves off your back. And then we can go back to competing on who can get the highest mark.”_

_Thalia smiles, “thanks, that would be great. And don’t worry I’ll be sure to whoop your ass on the next quiz.”_

_——_

_Neal's biggest regret was not having the courage to ask Thalia to Prom. They had always been rivals, but their senior year was different, they were being nice to each other and Neal hated to admit but he thinks he has feelings for her._

_He ended up going alone, Robin took Alex of course and he decided he didn’t really want to go with some random girl he didn’t know that well._

_“Hey Charming, couldn’t get a date?” It was Thalia. She looked beautiful in a crimson red dress and her brown hair tied up._

_“No, I had a line of girls ask me and I had to turn them down.” He replies causing Thalia to roll her eyes._

_“I’m gonna regret this, but do you want to dance?” She asks, Neal is as shocked as anything. “I shouldn’t mock you, I don’t have a date either. I was holding out for this one guy but he never asked.”_

  
  


_Neal kicked himself for not realising until years later she meant him. “I’d love to. Just don’t step on my toes” he teased_

  
  


_So Thalia took her hand and laced it with Neal's as they stepped onto the dance floor. The song was slow, so she wrapped her arms around Neal’s neck as they slowly moved to the rhythm._

  
  


_“Wow you’re actually pretty good at this.” Thalia comments as their bodies are pressed close together as they dance._

  
  


_“Well I am a prince, it’s expected of me.” Neal teases._

  
  


_“God you never let that go, do you Charming?” Thalia teases back._

_Neither know what happened next, except all of a sudden their lips were on each other. It’s like they’ve been waiting for this moment all their life, maybe it’s the alcohol, or maybe they’ve been avoiding their feelings for a while. But it feels right._

  
  


_Thalia breaks the kiss. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”_

  
  


_Neal, still flustered, just says, “it’s fine. I-I liked it.”_

_Whatever he said or did, it wasn’t right, and Thalia ran off and he didn’t see her for the rest of the night_. 

  
  


___

“Wait you’re telling me you kissed her at Prom and then you didn’t go after her? And yet you’re still together?” Henry asks after Neal had finished telling his story.

Neal laughs, “it was pretty complicated. We were kinda stubborn and wouldn’t admit that we actually liked each other. It was only when she was moving out of her father's home that I had the guts to talk to her about that night and asked her out for real.” 

  
  


It was actually Neal that managed to get her out of her house. When he saw her in Granny’s and her makeup didn’t quite cover the shiner and bruised lip her father so clearly had given to her, he made her come to Emma’s house for a couple nights until they managed to find her an apartment. But Thalia’s abusive shitbag of a father was her story to tell.

  
  


“Stubbornness is a Charming family trait, you and your sister get it from your father.” Snow comments. “Let’s hope you haven’t inherited it Henry.”

  
  


“I can’t wait to hear more!” Henry smiles. 

  
  


“There’s plenty where that came from, now I want to hear about my pirate brother in law!” Neal says

And so Henry launches into one of he and Hook's adventures, when they save Emma from the alternate reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooo how did you like it??
> 
> We have only the beginning of some lovely CS angst which is heart wrenching but will be soo worth it in the end. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it!!

**Author's Note:**

> I’m so happy I can finally post this! This is a fic I have been working on for the longest time!  
> Chapters will get longer and I also really hope you love the characters I’m going to introduce you to!
> 
> Please comments your thoughts down below


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